Mareuil-sur-Aÿ

Mareuil-sur-Aÿ sits on south-facing chalk slopes above the Marne canal, immediately east of Aÿ, with vineyards that trace one of the steepest gradients in the entire appellation. The village is best known for Clos des Goisses, a small walled monopole that Philipponnat bought in 1935 and bottled as the first single-vineyard Champagne ever produced commercially. The slope reaches 45 degrees in places, gives reliable ripeness even in cool vintages, and is almost always declared as a vintage. Mareuil missed Grand Cru status by a single point in the 1985 reclassification, despite a local saying that runs "Aÿ has the name, Mareuil has the goodness." Pinot Noir overwhelmingly dominates the plantings. Since 2016 the commune has been administratively absorbed into Aÿ-Champagne, but the vineyards retain their distinct identity.