Nesle-le-Repons

Location

Nesle-le-Repons lies in the west of the Marne département, about 40 kilometres south-west of Reims. It is 23 kilometres by road to Épernay and 9 kilometres to Dormans, which is also the nearest railway station. The commune covers 507 hectares and belongs to the Brie champenoise landscape. Its neighbours are Troissy, Mareuil-le-Port, Festigny and Igny-Comblizy.

The village itself sits in the valley of the Flagot, which has cut its way down into the Brie plateau here. The little river is 12 kilometres long, rises in Igny-Comblizy and flows into the Marne at Mareuil-le-Port. The land rises from 116 to 238 metres, with the highest point on the plateau to the south and east.

Viticulture

Nesle-le-Repons is neither grand cru nor premier cru, but the commune is part of the Champagne wine-growing area. The vines grow on the slopes north of the Flagot. Further vineyard sites extend across the east of the commune above Neuville, a hamlet of Festigny. Permanent crops, chiefly the vineyards, account for a good 18 per cent of the commune's area. Only arable land takes up more, at around 41 per cent. The rest is woodland and meadow.

“Almost all of the 77 dwellings are detached houses, and more than a third of the main residences date from before 1919.The most striking building is the church of Saint-André.

In this western corner of the Marne valley, Pinot Meunier generally plays a major role. If you want to get to know Champagne away from the famous names, here is a village strongly shaped by winegrowing.

The village and what to see

With 141 inhabitants (2023), Nesle-le-Repons is a very small place. In French, its residents are called Houlots and Houlottes. The village gathers around two main streets, the Rue de la Libération and the Rue de l'Église. There are also the hamlets of Le Moulin to the north and La Joberderie to the south, as well as the isolated farm of Mont Mergy on the plateau. Almost all of the 77 dwellings are detached houses, and more than a third of the main residences date from before 1919.

Lanson Champagne

The most striking building is the church of Saint-André. A visit combines nicely with a walk through the Flagot valley and along the vineyard slopes.

Getting there and the surrounding area

• The departmental road D 518 runs through the village, linking Igny-Comblizy to the west with Festigny to the east.
• Dormans on the Marne is the nearest railway station and also the most important town in the area.
• Épernay, the capital of champagne, is about 23 kilometres away by road.

Administratively, Nesle-le-Repons belongs to the Communauté de communes des Paysages de la Champagne and to the canton of Dormans-Paysages de Champagne. The climate is oceanic, with an average annual temperature of around 10.7 °C and roughly 734 millimetres of rainfall. These are just the conditions you would expect in France's northernmost major wine region.