Bouzy Grand Cru Champagne
On the southern flank of the Montagne de Reims, Bouzy is one of the 17 villages classified Grand Cru in Champagne. A land of Pinot Noir, its south-facing chalky slopes yield ample, structured Champagnes.
The terroir of Bouzy
Bouzy stretches across the southern slope of the Montagne de Reims, where the vines enjoy generous sunlight and a chalk subsoil. This chalk, regulating water and releasing warmth, is one of the keys to Champagne finesse. Pinot Noir reigns supreme here and reaches a ripeness that few terroirs deliver so consistently.
The village is also renowned for its rare still red wine, Bouzy rouge, an AOC Coteaux Champenois: proof of the power and concentration that Pinot Noir reaches on these plots.
What is a Grand Cru in Champagne?
The ranking of Champagne's terroirs dates back to the early twentieth century. After the 1911 revolt of the Marne winegrowers, the trade organised relations between growers and houses around an « échelle des crus »: each village received a percentage rating that set the price of its grapes. One hundred percent for the Grands Crus, 90 to 99% for the Premiers Crus, below that for the other communes. Only seventeen reached the top of the scale and hold the Grand Cru title. Bouzy is one of them.
The scale has no longer set prices since the turn of the 2000s, but the Grand Cru and Premier Cru designations have remained as markers of origin and quality. In Bouzy, every grape is therefore, by definition, a Grand Cru grape: a standard written into the vineyard's history.
The Moreau family, in Bouzy
Three generations of growers have followed one another in Bouzy: François, René, then Arnaud Moreau. The estate farms four hectares in Bouzy and Ambonnay, two of Champagne's seventeen Grand Cru villages. The grapes are 100% Grand Cru and the harvest is done by hand. From this heritage come seven cuvées, each a different reading of the terroir.
Among them, Érynn comes from a single plot, vinified separately: the most precise expression of our vision of Bouzy.
Frequently asked questions about Bouzy
- Where is Bouzy located?
- Bouzy is a village in the Marne, on the southern slope of the Montagne de Reims, about fifteen kilometres south-east of Reims, at the heart of the Champagne vineyard.
- Why is Bouzy classified as Grand Cru?
- Bouzy is one of the 17 Champagne villages classified Grand Cru on the échelle des crus, the highest level in the historic hierarchy of Champagne terroirs.
- Which grape variety characterises Bouzy?
- Bouzy is above all a land of Pinot Noir, a variety that reaches remarkable ripeness thanks to its south-facing slopes and chalky subsoil.
- Can you taste Champagne in Bouzy?
- Yes. The Champagne Arnaud Moreau estate offers tastings in Bouzy, by appointment, around its seven Grand Cru cuvées.