- Département
- Marne (Grand Est region)
- Site
- Marne valley, south of the Montagne de Reims
- Inhabitants
- 1,087 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Classification
- Premier Cru
- Vineyard area
- 292 hectares
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
- Classification
- Premier Cru
Mareuil-sur-Ay is a village in the Marne valley, just south of the Montagne de Reims and next door to Ay. This premier cru village has 292 hectares of vines and is home to Billecart-Salmon and Philipponnat.
Location
Mareuil-sur-Ay lies in the Marne valley, south of the Montagne de Reims, and is part of the Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park. The village stretches from east to west along the lateral canal of the Marne. The oldest part, in the east, leans against the hillside. Above it, at around 130 metres, the statue of Notre-Dame du Gruguet keeps watch. To the west, the Les Carelles district borders directly on Ay.
To the north the land rises towards the Montagne de Reims and the neighbouring village of Mutigny. This is where the vines grow. The southern part of the commune is given over to arable farming. The Marne flows south of the canal and loops around the west of the village, while east of Mareuil the Livre flows into the river.
Viticulture
Mareuil-sur-Ay is classified as premier cru. The commune has 292 hectares of vines within the Champagne appellation. The vineyards sit on the northern slope above the village, right where the Marne valley gives way to the Montagne de Reims. If you are looking for champagne from this corner of the region, these are wines from a village that lies right next to the famous Ay.
Champagne houses
Two well-known names are based in Mareuil-sur-Ay:
- Billecart-Salmon, founded in 1818
- Philipponnat, founded in 1910 and now owned by Lanson-BCC
History
The village has been settled for a very long time. Excavations on the road to Bisseuil turned up traces of a Gaulish burial ground from the La Tène period. The name is attested early, for instance as Marogillum around the year 588. It probably goes back to a Gaulish word in which "maro" means "great". The inhabitants call themselves Marotiers.
The inhabitants call themselves Marotiers.On 1 January 2016, Ay, Bisseuil and Mareuil-sur-Ay merged to form the commune nouvelle of Aÿ-Champagne.
On 1 January 2016, Ay, Bisseuil and Mareuil-sur-Ay merged to form the commune nouvelle of Aÿ-Champagne. Mareuil-sur-Ay has been a commune déléguée ever since, with the administrative seat in Ay. As of 1 January 2023, the village had 1,087 inhabitants.
Sights
- Château de Mareuil, also known as the Château de Montebello: it was built between 1771 and 1774 to plans by Jean-Michel Chevotet and his son-in-law Jean-Baptiste Chaussard. The garden was redesigned at the end of the 19th century by Édouard Redont. The château is a listed monument.
- Church of Saint-Hilaire: it dates from the 11th, 12th and 16th centuries, was badly damaged during the Revolution and rebuilt in the 1850s and 1860s. Several of the stained-glass windows were donated by local townspeople.
- Statue of the Virgin and Child on the Mont du Gruguet: it was erected after the Second World War as a thank-you for the village being spared destruction during the German retreat and for the return of all its prisoners of war. A torchlit procession takes place every 15 August.
Nicolas Appert, regarded as the inventor of preserving food in cans and jars, also lived in Mareuil and carried out his experiments in the Rue Carnot.
For lovers of good food and wine, the village makes a peaceful stop between Ay and the Montagne de Reims: here you can combine vineyards, a château and two long-established houses in a single day.
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