Have you ever heard the word terroir, and wondered what it means? Terroir is a French word that means land and derives from the Latin terratorium.
The ground, topography, and climate of a vineyard make up the terroir. The Terroir incorporates the complete natural environment in which a particular champagne is produced.
What does Cru mean?
The physical location of the vineyard determines its cru classification. The champagne region (appellation) has 320 villages in its territory, so it has 320 crus. The classification of a cru (village) is final, and it cannot subsequently rise or fall in class. The echelle des crus is a ladder system to rank cru.
There are 17 cru classified as the highest classification, Grand Cru. There are 44 classified as Premier Cru. The cru classification is a price fixing structure with the price/kg of grapes fixed. Grapes from grand cru villages fetch 100% of the market price. Only around 5% of champagne vines reach grand cru status. Premier cru grapes receive 90-99% of the market price.
Geology
Soils in the champagne region are mostly made from eroded calcareous chalk and limestone bedrock. Chalk and limestone are made from calcium carbonate (CaCO3). These calcium rich deposits were laid down in warm, hot seas 100s of millions of years ago. In many areas in champagne, you can find superb fossils of marine creatures. A good place to see examples of fossil shells is in the cellar of Roger Manceaux in Rilly-la-Montagne.
Many champagne vineyards are located on sloping hillsides and it is the combination of slopes, and chalk soils that ensures good water drainage. These conditions are perfect for the growth of grapevines. In many areas, solid chalk bedrock underlies the chalky soils. Chalk bedrock has the advantage of being soft and easy to carve. This means that many champagne houses, especially the large famous Négociant Manipulant (NM) Grand Marques like Moet & Chandon and Verve Clicquot have dug large cellars into the bedrock below their champagne houses. Chalk cellars are perfect for storing champagne as they are dark and maintain a constant year-round temperature of 9-12 °C.
Topography
Many of the vines in champagne are planted on ridges, like the Côte des Blancs or on sloping hills like the Montage de Reims. Topography is the combination of characteristics such as: altitude, slope, and exposure (to the sun). Sloping land picks up more heat from the sun than flat land so the slopes or coteaux of the appellation provide ideal topography for growing and ripening champagne grapes.
Climate
The champagne appellation has a specific micro-climate with two predominating weather patterns:
- Oceanic – bringing moisture and cool winters.
- Continental – bringing warm sunshine needed for grape ripening especially at harvest time.
In winter, the continental weather pattern can also bring potentially damaging frosts. The annual average temperature in champagne is only 11°C .
Land Price
It is worth noting that the current price of a hectare of champagne Grand Cru vineyard in some places is over €2.5 million.
Land price is a major issue for independent champagne makers. If an independent producer cannot produce enough grapes to meet their production targets, then they are only permitted to buy in an extra 5% yield and still maintain their classification as an independent producer or Récoltant Manipulant (RM).
Even if an independent producer could find some available land to expand their production, the chances are they could not afford to pay the current asking price of €1–2.5 million per hectare (2020).
Grape farming is a tough business, physically and financially. Every time there is a major downturn in the economy, independent producers either leave the champagne business or give up producing champagne and sell their grapes to the large NM.