Puisieulx

Puisieulx lies along the Vesle, 9 km southeast of Reims, where the Montagne de Reims slopes down toward the plain: the UMC places it in the Grande Montagne de Reims terroir, next to Sillery. The name comes from the Latin puteus, “small wells.” With 18.8 ha and 12 winegrowers, it is the smallest of the 17 Grand Cru: Pinot Noir covers 53% of the vineyards, Chardonnay 33%, and Meunier 14%. Among the maisons, the UMC notes vineyards belonging to Moët & Chandon.

The parcels lie between 103 and 115 meters and are almost half flat; where the land slopes, the average gradient is 3% and the predominant aspect is southeast. Pinot Noir, the dominant grape variety of the Montagne de Reims, produces wines with body and structure, according to the Comité Champagne.

Traditionally harvested together with Sillery, Puisieulx was not among the 11 100% crus in the first échelle des crus of 1911: it reached 100% with the revisions of 1941-1945, as Jean-Luc Barbier notes, and the AOC Champagne regulations now list it among the communes permitted to use “Grand Cru”. For centuries, the village was under the authority of the archbishops of Reims and the Brûlart family, marquises of Sillery; the fort de la Pompelle, a stronghold in the defense of Reims during the First World War, stands within its territory, and the commune received the Croix de guerre 1914-1918.

The Champagne wines from Puisieulx available from STELT are listed below; the village is also marked on the Champagne map.