Montgenost

Location

Montgenost belongs to the Marne département in the Grand Est region and lies at the very southern edge of the Champagne area. The départements of Aube and Seine-et-Marne are not far away. Villenauxe-la-Grande is 3.5 kilometres to the west, Bethon 2.5 kilometres to the north-east. About six kilometres to the south, the Seine valley begins near Romilly-sur-Seine. The commune covers 8.4 square kilometres and had around 161 inhabitants in 2023. It is a rural commune with scattered housing.

Winegrowing on the Côte de Sézanne

The village lies in the south of the Côte de Sézanne, a distinct winegrowing region of Champagne. Geologically it is part of the Côte de l'Île-de-France, the innermost escarpment of the Paris Basin. On the heights, at around 206 metres, a large, unbroken forest stretches out. From there the land falls away quite abruptly to the south-east, down to about 90 metres. Vines grow on many of these slopes, and the village sits right in the middle of them. The Côte de Sézanne is generally regarded as chardonnay country. Montgenost is classified neither as grand cru nor as premier cru. Those who come here are not looking for big names, but for the quiet, rural side of Champagne.

Landscape and climate

The figures for land use (as of 2018) show how varied the commune's territory is:

“The commune covers 8.4 square kilometres and had around 161 inhabitants in 2023.

• Arable land: 53%
• Forest: 30.5%
• Permanent crops, in this location mainly vines: 12.8%
• Mixed agricultural land: 3.7%

The climate is oceanic, but tempered. Averaged over the years 1971 to 2000, the annual temperature was 10.7 °C and rainfall 766 millimetres. The commune has no watercourse of its own.

History and château

The village name is documented as early as the 12th century, at that time in the form Mons Genoldi (1165). Over the centuries the spelling changed several times, arriving at today's form. At the beginning of the 16th century, the lords of Des Marins were the feudal overlords of Montgenost.

Boizel Champagner Schild

The Château de Montgenost dominates the village. Pierre Legras de Vaubercey had it built in 1660, and it remains in the family to this day. The château is privately owned and not open to the public. You can still admire it from the outside, for instance on a walk through the vineyards.

For enthusiasts

Montgenost makes a good stop if you want to get to know the southern fringes of Champagne. From here you can reach Villenauxe-la-Grande quickly. The area shows that Champagne is not only Reims, Épernay and the famous grand cru villages, but also many small places where wine, woodland and farming sit side by side. The inhabitants, incidentally, call themselves Montgenostiers and Montgenostières.