The Côte des Blancs is one of the gems of the Champagne vineyard, running from northeast to southwest and lying perpendicular to the Marne Valley. Located a few kilometers from Epernay, its slopes and mounds skirt Champagne’s Brie plateau over a distance of 10-15km.
As its name suggests, the Côte des Blancs is an exclusively white appellation, with the Chardonnay planted as a stand-alone varietal, except in Vertus, in the extreme south, where its supremacy is challenged by the Pinot Noir.
The chalk-covered ridge of la Côte des Blancs is where the Chardonnay finds its finest expression, source of that famous Blanc de Blancs that Champagne blenders then artfully combine with Blanc de Noirs from the Montagne de Reims and the Marne Valley to create the prestige cuvees that are the pride and joy of the Champagne Houses.
58 Villages |
4 139 Operators |
6 304.00 ha of vines |
84.86% Chardonnay |
7.89% Meunier |
7.19% Pinots-Noirs |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Côte des Blancs | 10 | 2 357 | 3 190.50 ha | 97.22% | 0.75% | 1.99% |
Montgueux | 1 | 90 | 208.40 ha | 90.40% | 0.38% | 9.07% |
Sézannais | 12 | 713 | 1 418.50 ha | 75.40% | 6.10% | 18.43% |
Val du Petit Morin | 20 | 715 | 1 029.00 ha | 52.87% | 37.01% | 10.04% |
Vitryat | 15 | 264 | 457.60 ha | 97.51% | 1.16% | 1.29% |