A Grand Cru village in the Montagne de Reims, Mailly has the distinctive and quite exceptional privilege of being largely identified by one champagne producer: Mailly Grand Cru.
One of the oldest co-ops in Champagne, Champagne Mailly Grand Cru was founded in 1929 by Gabriel Simon, and rallies today some 80 local growers who farm a total of 70 hectares in 35 lieux-dits. The grapes are harvested and vinified by parcel to respect their respective flavor profile. It then allows the Chef de cave to have a large choice of wines for its blending, what since 2017 has morphed into “ Composition parcellaire”. The large selection of reserve wines from ten years of harvest is the Maison’s notable forte.
Chef the cave since 2013, Sebastien Moncuit has been working closely with the growers part of the co-op to assist them in embracing a sustainable approach to viticulture. Since 2021 all of its vineyards have been VDC (Viticulture Durable en Champagne)* and HVE (Haute Valeur Environmentale)* certified – a welcome recognition of the estate’s enduring commitment to sustainability and environmental management.
I had the honor and privilege to chat with Valerie Aigron, director of Export at Champagne Mailly Grand Cru, to learn more about this very unique co-op that unusually acts and operates as a family more so than a formal organization.
Aigron shared the amazing story of how post World War I and in the midst of the Great Depression a group of vignerons from the village of Mailly Champagne got together and founded the “Société de Producteurs de Mailly Champagne”, with the goal of producing champagne with grapes exclusively grown in Mailly Champagne. They carved out their own cellars and cave to be able to store their champagne. It took them 30 years to create 1 km long cellar corridors. And as the saying goes, the rest is history!
For more info go to: https://www.champagne-mailly.com/en/
