CHAMPAGNE MICHEL MAILLIARD
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
Champagne Michel Mailliard
The home of Champagne Michel Mailliard can be found in Vertus, the heart of the Côte des Blancs. Vertus is the first commune of Champagne in the Marne department and its terroir of 500 hectares is classified as Premier Cru.
Today, the third and fourth generations take care of their vineyard of 23 hectares, half of which are in Vertus and its surroundings and, for the most part, planted with Chardonnay.
The love for land and vines and the skills acquired through the work of their ancestors – winemakers, are reflected today in their vineyards as well as in their champagnes.
Current generations are guided by an innate ability and rigour and by the teaching that great wines can be elaborated only when the grapes are of a high quality. And for that, they need to take the greatest care of the land and the vines.
The vineyard of Champagne Michel Mailliard is in the department Marne, in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, the wine area that stretches over some 20 km to the south, south-east from Epernay. The area is named after the colour of the Chardonnay, the grape planted on some 95% of the soil. The Champagnes made with Chardonnay are called Blanc de Blancs.
If, according to the experts, the Côte des Blancs gives way to the best champagnes, this is largely due to its soil, as it lays on a chalk outcrop, unlike other parts of the vineyard where the chalk is more deeply buried.
It is to the convergence of this terroir, unique in the world, and to their expertise that they owe the characteristic minerality of their Champagnes.
There are techniques and know-how involved in the development of their wines, but according to Michel Mailliard, Champagne is also a cultural and more and more an emotional matter.
It is an art to build on the land and take advantage of its own typicality. In most cases, it is the art of blending, of creating a wine greater than the sum of its components. However, when the balance between flavours and harmonies is perfect without any intervention, it is the art of accepting nature’s superiority.
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