Pierry

Pierry sits at the foot of the Côteaux Sud d'Épernay slope, immediately south of the city, and it is the only Premier Cru in this small subregion. The village is best known for the seventeenth-century Benedictine cellarmaster Frère Jean Oudart, who worked here in parallel with Dom Pérignon at Hautvillers and is sometimes credited as a co-pioneer of the practical winemaking techniques that gave Champagne its modern shape. By 1700 Pierry's wines reportedly fetched twice the Paris price of regional rivals. The eighteenth-century Château de la Marquetterie has belonged to one of the major Reims houses since 1932 and serves as its hospitality estate. Pinot Meunier accounts for around half of the village's plantings.