Sézanne

Sézanne is the small town that gives its name to the Côte de Sézanne, in the southwest of the Marne, 38 km southwest of Épernay; the UMC places it in the Sézannais terroir and counts 207.1 ha for 63 winegrowers: Chardonnay at 70% (145.5 ha), Meunier at 15% (31.9 ha), and Pinot Noir at 14% (29.7 ha). The vineyard is divided between a sector north of the town (about 62%) and one to the southwest.

Vines here have deep roots: a fossil flora of 65 species, including a vine, Vitis sezannensis, was described in the city's Paleocene travertines in the 19th century, and in 1782 Legrand d'Aussy listed Sézanne among the wines of 12th-century Champagne, along with Épernay, Reims and Hautvillers. The city was burned in 1230 on the orders of Count Thibaut, and again in 1632, when 1,200 houses burned. The Church of Saint-Denis preserves the «ouvroirs» in its buttresses, shops carved into the wall from 1499; the hospital was founded in 1164 by Henry I of Champagne. Under the appellation rules, Sézanne is neither Grand Cru nor Premier Cru.

For the Comité Champagne, Chardonnay produces fresh, floral, citrusy wines, Meunier brings roundness, and Pinot Noir adds body and structure. The Champagne wines that the map places in Sézanne, available from STELT, are listed below; the Côte de Sézanne has its own page.