Rilly-la-Montagne

Rilly-la-Montagne lies on the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims, 9 km south of Reims, in the terroir that the UMC calls Grande Montagne de Reims, between Villers-Allerand and Chigny-les-Roses; the Reims-Épernay railway runs through it in a tunnel about 4 km long. It is one of the oldest villages in the Montagne: a polyptych of the monks of Saint-Remi, dating from 850, already records two wine presses there.

The 313.1 ha of vineyards, tended by 148 winegrowers, rise from 125 to 174 metres with an average slope of 6%, facing mainly east and southeast, then northeast. Pinot Noir covers 41%, Meunier 33% and Chardonnay 26%. L'UMC notes vineyards belonging to de Castellane and Leclerc Briant.

In 1718, Jean Godinot mentioned Rilly among the «vins de Montagne», and in 1816 André Jullien placed its red wines in the second class. In the first échelle des crus, in 1911, it was rated at 83%; this rose to 88% with the 1920 revision, and in the last échelle it was at 94%, which the appellation rules confirm as Premier Cru. In the 12th-century Romanesque church of Saint-Nicolas, wooden choir stalls depict vineyard work. During the Second World War, the Germans used the railway tunnel to assemble V1s, and the village was therefore bombed by the Allies.

STELT currently has no Champagne from Rilly-la-Montagne in its catalog; when they do, you will find them below. The other villages of the Montagne de Reims are just a stone's throw away.