Mailly Grand Cru

Mailly Grand Cru is not a classic estate but a growers' cooperative. Founded in 1929, it is one of the oldest cooperatives in Champagne. At that time 24 growers from Mailly Champagne joined forces to secure better prices for the wines they sold to the champagne houses. With rented equipment and second-hand bottles they made their own champagne, starting with 3,600 bottles.

One village, one grand cru

What sets it apart: the wines are made exclusively from grapes grown in the grand cru village of Mailly-Champagne. The village lies on the northern flank of the Montagne de Reims and has been classified grand cru since 1920. On the Échelle des Crus it has held a rating of 100 per cent virtually without interruption ever since.

The members now farm 70 hectares in the Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park. 80 growers look after these vines. The plantings are Pinot Noir (75 per cent) and Chardonnay (25 per cent), spread across 35 sites. Figures for the number of parcels vary (480 according to your text, over 600 according to a merchant), so it is not given here.

“The village lies on the northern flank of the Montagne de Reims and has been classified grand cru since 1920.

Winemaking and cellars

Harvesting is by hand, and whole bunches are pressed. The bottles age on lattes in traditional chalk cellars. These cellars run to seven levels and roughly a kilometre of chalk tunnels. The founding growers dug them by hand between 1929 and 1965. In 2018 the cooperative became the first in Champagne to receive collective HVE/VDC certification. This is the documented framework for the sustainable viticulture the estate lays claim to.

Cuvées and visiting

The foundation is the Brut Réserve, made from 75 per cent Pinot Noir and 25 per cent Chardonnay. L'Intemporelle, on the market since 1990, is 60 per cent Pinot Noir and 40 per cent Chardonnay. Les Échansons is the vintage prestige cuvée, dedicated to sommeliers. Part of it is vinified in barrel.

Champagner Keller Malakoff

Visitors will find the house at 28 Rue de la Libération. According to the booking portal, the one-hour Prestige tasting costs 45 euros per adult. In the glass you get Intemporelle Rosé, Intemporelle and Les Échansons. The glass winery building was designed by the architect Giovanni Pace, and the original 1929 structure still stands inside it. For current opening times and prices, it is best to ask the house directly.