Mareuil-sur-Aÿ

Mareuil-sur-Aÿ stretches along the lateral canal of the Marne, just east of Aÿ, 5 km from Épernay and 22 km from Reims; east of the village, the Livre flows into the Marne. Since January 1, 2016, it has been part of the new commune of Aÿ-Champagne, together with Aÿ and Bisseuil. The old part of the village is built right against the coteau, below the statue of Notre-Dame du Gruguet (130 m); to the north, toward Mutigny, the slope is entirely vineyards, while south of the canal there are fields. The coteaux have been part of the UNESCO-listed historic hillsides since 2015.

The vineyards, 294.3 ha for 116 winegrowers according to the UMC, lie at elevations of 78 to 162 meters, with an average slope of 10%, and face mostly south. Pinot Noir covers 84% of the area and gives body and structure; it is followed by Chardonnay (9%) and Meunier (7%). Mareuil-sur-Aÿ is 99% Premier Cru, the highest level below Grand Cru: in 1911, winegrowers immediately secured a price equal to 9/10 of Aÿ's; in 1920 the cru rose to 95%, and in 1985 to 99%. As early as 1752, Nicolas Bidet counted it among the most highly reputed wines, and in 1816 André Jullien ranked its whites in the first class.

Billecart-Salmon, founded in 1818, and Philipponnat, established in 1910, are based here; according to the UMC, Bollinger, Deutz, Henriot, Krug, Leclerc Briant, Louis Roederer, Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, and Veuve Clicquot also have vineyards in the commune. Mareuil Castle, also known as Montebello, was built between 1771 and 1774 to a design by Jean-Michel Chevotet; the Church of Saint-Hilaire (11th-16th century) is a historic monument.

Below are the Champagne wines from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ available from STELT: village cuvées, numerous single-vineyard wines, and wines from the Billecart-Salmon house, based here; the location is on the Champagne map.