Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny

If you leave the famous villages of the Côte des Blancs behind and drive a little way to the south-east, you come to a quieter part of the region. Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny is a village of 326 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023). It holds neither grand cru nor premier cru status, but it belongs to the wider Champagne landscape around Épernay and Vertus.

Location

The village lies on the Berle, about 20 kilometres west-south-west of Châlons-en-Champagne. The Berle rises at Bergères-lès-Vertus and, after 16 kilometres, flows into the Somme-Soude at Pocancy. Neighbouring communes include Blancs-Coteaux, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Rouffy, Vouzy, Chaintrix-Bierges and Trécon. The commune is made up of three hamlets, the remains of what were originally separate villages. Administratively it belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Vertus-Plaine Champenoise.

Landscape and viticulture

Here it is the plain that dominates, not the vine-covered slope. According to the European land-use statistics (Corine Land Cover, 2018), just over 91 per cent of the land is farmed, of which 83.3 per cent is arable. Permanent crops, which in this region mainly means vines, account for 6.4 per cent, and woodland for 5.7 per cent. The climate is oceanic in character. At the nearest weather station, in Chouilly, the mean annual temperature (1991 to 2020) is 11.4 °C and annual rainfall is around 669 millimetres. For the wine lover, this means that champagne from this commune is more of a discovery on the margins: the big names are to be found in the neighbouring villages.

“Villeneuve-Renneville-Chevigny is a village of 326 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023).

History

The history goes a long way back. In 1866, while the railway line was being built, a Gallic burial ground from the La Tène period was uncovered, with 67 graves. Further finds followed in 1915 and 1916, and again in 1953 during the laying of a gas pipeline. The village of Villeneuve itself was founded in 1125 on the decision of the Abbey of Hautvillers, which had owned the land since 1093. The intention was to settle freed serfs there. The present commune came into being in the 19th century: in 1858 Villeneuve-lès-Rouffy absorbed Renneville, and in 1865 Chevigny was added. Since 2017 it has belonged to the arrondissement of Épernay.

De Castellane Champagner

Sights and getting there

• The church of Saint-Memmie, dating from the 12th century and protected as a monument historique since 1987
• The Gallic burial ground, a record of early settlement

By bus you can reach the village on line 51R160 between Fère-Champenoise and Épernay. There is also an on-demand service to Épernay and Vertus, which in 2025 runs twice a day in each direction, Monday to Saturday. For trips to the growers in the surrounding area, though, having your own car is still the more convenient choice.