Voipreux

Location

Voipreux lies in the Marne département, around 40 kilometres south of Reims. The village sits three kilometres from Vertus, at the foot of the escarpment that forms the Côte des Blancs here. This ridge is the Cuesta d'Île-de-France, and on its slopes grow the Chardonnay vines for which this stretch of Champagne is known. Wines made exclusively from this grape are called blanc de blancs.

Voipreux is classified neither as grand cru nor as premier cru. Its neighbours Oger and Vertus, by contrast, carry famous names of the Côte des Blancs. Since 1 January 2018 all three, together with Gionges, have belonged to the commune nouvelle of Blancs-Coteaux. Voipreux is therefore a former independent commune. Before the merger it had 229 inhabitants (2015 figure) and belonged to the canton of Vertus-Plaine Champenoise. Since 2017 it has been assigned to the arrondissement of Épernay; before that it belonged to Châlons-en-Champagne.

Name and history

The village name says a great deal about its position. In 1186 it is recorded as Vadum petrosum, meaning "stony ford". Later it appears as Voypereux (1366) and Voipreu (1428), and on the Cassini map as Voypreux.

“Since 1 January 2018 all three, together with Gionges, have belonged to the commune nouvelle of Blancs-Coteaux.

The ford was the reason for the village's importance. It crossed a tributary of the Berle, fed by karst springs on the plateau. Roads running east to west and north to south also met here. The area has been settled for a very long time: numerous archaeological finds show traces dating back to the Neolithic. In the Middle Ages Voipreux was the centre of a pagus and a fortified town of the County of Champagne.

Things to see

For a village of this size, the list is surprisingly varied:

• the church of Saint-Pierre, dating from the 12th century
• a Merovingian burial ground
• a menhir
• a gîte rural for overnight stays

The menhir and the burial ground fit the long history of settlement that the finds document. Anyone exploring the Côte des Blancs can therefore combine wine and archaeology here.

Champagne from Voipreux

Champagne producers work in the village. They mostly sell their wines directly, and a visit is especially worthwhile for those who enjoy Chardonnay-driven champagnes. Its closeness to Vertus and Oger makes Voipreux a good stop on a tour of the Côte des Blancs. It is best to arrange visits to the growers in advance by getting in touch beforehand.