Pierry

Location

Pierry lies in the Marne département, just south-west of Épernay, which borders the village to the north. Its other neighbours are Chouilly, Cuis, Monthelon and Moussy. As of 1 January 2023 the village had 1,264 inhabitants. The name points to stony ground, and Pierry does indeed sit on an old Roman road that runs out of Épernay. Today the village is part of the urban area of the champagne capital.

Soil and viticulture

The hills of Pierry belong to the Côte d'Île-de-France, which rises above the plain of the Champagne region. Three layers are easy to tell apart in the landscape:

• On the high plateaus there is clay and millstone limestone, where meadows and arable crops grow.
• On the wooded slopes you find sand, marl and limestone.
• Beneath lies the chalk, the bedrock of the vines. It reaches down into the valley, where deposits from the Marne and the Darcy and Cubry streams cover it.

Pierry is not classed as a grand cru or premier cru village. Even so, the chalk on the slope has a long tradition of winegrowing. The village is a good example of how sites outside the famous classifications have also written champagne history.

“He received Voltaire and André Chénier there, among others, and was mayor of Pierry until his death under the guillotine in 1792.

History: Frère Oudart and the Marquetterie

Frère Oudart lived in Pierry, a Benedictine monk and one of the fathers of champagne. His congregation farmed a fine vineyard on the slope here, which later became famous under the name “Les Folies de la Marquetterie”.

Before the French Revolution, the writer and philosopher Jacques Cazotte lived in the Château de la Marquetterie. He received Voltaire and André Chénier there, among others, and was mayor of Pierry until his death under the guillotine in 1792. In the First World War the village lay close to the front: in September 1915 General Édouard de Castelnau set up his headquarters in the château and directed a successful offensive from here. General Joseph Joffre joined him there as well.

Salon Champagner

In 1932 Pierre Taittinger bought the Château de la Marquetterie from the champagne firm Forest-Fourneaux. The 18th-century estate was planted with chardonnay and pinot noir. It became the family seat and the heart of his champagne house.

What to see

Visitors to Pierry will find several buildings from the 18th century:

• Château de la Marquetterie, largely built in 1734
• Château de Pierry, built in 1750
• Château des Aulnois, built in 1780
• the church of Saint-Julien
• the priory and a park

The châteaux bear witness to a time when Épernay and its surroundings grew prosperous on wine. If you want to combine champagne with history, Pierry makes an easy excursion from Épernay, as the distance is short.