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Michel Mailliard 1er Cru Cuvée:

(Carefully curated notes below are taken directly from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition

Chardonnay (95%), Pinot Noir (5%)

Location/Terroir

Marne/Côte des Blancs, Champagne, France

Food Pairing

• Classic Pairings
  • Oysters on the half shell with mignonette or lemon
  • Caviar or smoked salmon with crème fraîche blinis
  • Sushi & sashimi, especially lean white fish
• Elegant Pairings
  • Seared scallops with beurre blanc
  • Lobster or crab salad with citrus dressing
  • Roast chicken with tarragon and lemon
• Vegetarian Pairings
  • Triple-cream cheeses (Brillat-Savarin, Délice de Bourgogne)
  • Goat cheese crostini with honey drizzle
  • Spring vegetables like asparagus, peas, or artichoke risotto

About the producer!

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 our expertise that we owe the characteristic minerality of our Champagnes.

Vertus, the village in Champagne’s famous Côte des Blancs, has been the home of the Mailliard family since 1894 where they have been making champagne for four generations. Today, the third and fourth generations, father and son Michel and Gregory, take care of the 23-hectare (55 acre) family vineyard. Half of the vineyard plots are in Vertus and the surrounding area and are mostly planted to Chardonnay. In addition to being a vigneron and Champagne maker, Michel Mailliard is an innovator, entrepreneur, and leader with a touch of politician. Among the champagne producers of Vertus, he is a very prominent figure. Decades ago, Michel saw many of his neighbors with small vineyard plots of very good quality grapes in need of a better place to produce their champagnes. So, he created one of the first “custom crush facilities” in champagne. These types of facilities are now commonplace in many wine regions around the world, helping artisan producers and garagists. Over time, the small start-up grew to house the current state-of-the-art champagne producing equipment and temperature controlled storage facilities.