Aÿ

Aÿ sits on a steep, south-facing chalk slope on the north bank of the Marne, just across the river from Épernay, and it has been the most prestigious Pinot Noir village in Champagne for several centuries. The hill produced still red wine well before the region turned to bubbles, and bottles from Aÿ supplied the cellars of François I, Henry VIII, Charles V and Pope Leo X. Henri IV titled himself "Sire d'Aÿ et de Gonesse," naming the village for its wine and the nearby town of Gonesse for its bread. The chalk subsoil is the same Cretaceous bedrock that underpins the rest of the Marne, with topsoil only a few centimetres thick on some of the steepest plots. The vineyards are overwhelmingly planted to Pinot Noir, the most Pinot-dominant Grand Cru in the appellation, and the village remains the headquarters of several major houses to this day.