Tours-sur-Marne Champagne Region

Everything about Tours-sur-Marne

As some of you might be aware, in the middle of the 20th century, Champagne vineyards were classified.

According to this, the whole Champagne wine region was classified based on the village where the vineyards were located.

Of all the villages in this wine region, a total of twelve villages received Grand cru status in the year 1985 although the present number is seventeen.

Tours-sur-Marne is one of the Grand cru villages and is located in the ‘Marne department’.

Let’s see everything about ‘Tours-sur-Marne’ Champagne village here…

Where is it actually located?

In the northeastern part of France, this village is located along the ‘Marne River’ and the ‘Marne Canal’ to the south of the hill ‘Montagne de Reims’.

This commune is known to cover almost 2351 hectares with around 1376 residents.

Vineyards of Tours-sur-Marne

The vineyards of Tours-sur-Marne are found to have slopes that are facing south in the northern outskirts of the village.

These form the border to other extensive vineyards of Tauxières-Mutry and Bouzy.

Champagne Brice – Bouzy Grand Cru 2008 75cl Bottle
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As of 2013, the commune had almost 52.5 hectares of land under vine cultivation with 37.6 hectares for Pinot Noir cultivation and 14.9 hectares for Chardonnay cultivation.

The commune’s vineyards are being used by the Champagne houses like Moët & Chandon.

Common Misconception on Tours-sur-Marne

Based on the exact location of the Tours-sur-Marne village which is along the ‘Marne River’ and its canal, it is thought to be a part of the Grande Vallée de la Marne by most people.

But, Tours-sur-Marne is actually coming under the Grande Montagne de Reims.

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The reason for this is that the vineyards of Tours-sur-Marne are located farther from the Marne than those of Bisseuil.

Also, these vineyards are found to be the extension of the vineyards in Tauxières-Mutry and Bouzy.

Explaining the Grand Cru Status of Tours-sur-Marne

As mentioned earlier, the Tours-sur-Marne is one of the Grand Cru villages of Champagne according to the percentile system called Échelle des Crus.

This percentile system does not exist today and when it was first created, it defined Grand Cru as 100% and Premier Cru as 90 to 99%.

Rully, Premier Cru, Gresigny – H. et P. Jacqueson
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During those days, there were only a few villages which had a different rating for its grape varieties and Tours-sur-Marne was one among them.

It had 100% of red grape varieties and only 90% of white grape varieties. This means that this commune was Grand Cru only for the red grape and not for the white grape. It was known to be a Premier Cru for white grapes.

After the Échelle des Crus system was abolished, the villages were allowed to keep up the Grand Cru or Premier Cru they received with no reference to the varieties of grapes.

Also, there is no such status as mixed cru and hence, Tours-sur-Marne is a Grand Cru village for both the red and white grape varieties.

Single Vineyard Sites of Tours-sur-Marne

The single vineyard sites of Tours-sur-Marne are Bas Vigne Goësse, Côte des Noirs, and Les Meslaines. Of these, the Bas Vigne Goësse is a vineyard with the chalky type of soil.

From this vineyard, the wine Rosé de Saignée is being produced which is made from 100% Pinot Noir.

From the Côte des Noirs vineyard, varietal Chardonnay Champagne is being produced.

On the other hand, vineyard-designated Champagne from the old Pinot Noir is produced from the Les Meslaines vineyard.

Major Champagne Producers and Champagne Houses of Tours-sur-Marne

The major Champagne houses which are the members of ‘Union des Maisons de Champagne’ of Tours-sur-Marne are:

· Charles Lafitte (NM)
· Laurent-Perrier (NM)
· Chauvet (NM)

The major Champagne growers of Tours-sur-Marne are:

· Brisson-Lahaye (RM)
· Yves Delporte (RM)
· Faucheron-Gavroy (RM)
· Glorieux Père et Fils (RC)
· Hardy (RC)
· Lamiable

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Author

Tharani Rajamanickam

Winewriter

I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..

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