Mancy

Location

Mancy lies in the Marne département, about 35 kilometres south-southwest of Reims. The commune belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Épernay-2. Neighbouring villages include Monthelon, Cuis, Grauves, Moslins and Morangis. On 1 January 2023 the population was 233, and the inhabitants are known as Mancéens. The hamlet of Alancourt is also part of the commune.

The Mancy stream, a tributary of the Darcy, runs through the village and has carved out a small valley. To the west runs the Côte d'Île-de-France, and to the southeast rises the Butte du Pâtis de Mancy at 233 metres. Alancourt sits at its foot.

Viticulture

Mancy belongs to the Coteaux Sud d'Épernay wine-growing area. The village has no Grand Cru or Premier Cru classification, but the landscape shows how strongly viticulture shapes the commune. According to 2018 data, 93.6 per cent of the land is used for farming. The breakdown at a glance:

• Permanent crops: 63.4 per cent, in this region mainly vines
• Arable land: 17.4 per cent
• Mixed agricultural land: 12.8 per cent
• Forest: 6.1 per cent
• Built-up areas: 0.3 per cent

So barely more than a tenth of one per cent of the commune is built on, which is a rather generous way of putting it: the true figure is three in a thousand. Mancy is a village where the vines take up more room than the houses.

“On 1 January 2023 the population was 233, and the inhabitants are known as Mancéens.

Climate

The climate is oceanic and temperate, with fairly cool summers. The nearest Météo-France weather station is in Chouilly, eight kilometres away. For 1991 to 2020 it recorded a mean annual temperature of 11.4 °C and an average of 668.9 millimetres of rainfall a year. The extremes range from 40.3 °C on 25 July 2019 to minus 12.3 °C on 5 February 2012. For the growers, these are conditions that can swing sharply from one year to the next.

Philipponnat Champagner Flasche

History and sights

The name of the village is documented from the 12th century, then appearing among other forms as Mansy (1162) and Menziacum (1178). In the 16th and 17th centuries, members of the Barillon family, later the de Morangis, were the lords of Mancy. One of them was Jean-Jacques de Barillon (1601 to 1645).

The one sight named in the source is the church of Saint-Hubert, dating from the 14th century. It is the main point of interest in the village. If you are out on the paths between the vineyards, it combines nicely with a walk through the valley.

Getting there

Mancy lies within the catchment area of Épernay and makes a good quiet stop away from the big names. By car you are in Épernay in no time. An on-demand bus run by the Mouvéo network links the village with Grauves and Épernay, though the timetable is thin.