Chapter 12

The buildings on the opposite side of the courtyard comprise a large packing-hall, celliers where the wine is finished off, and rooms where corks and such-like things are stored. Here, too, is the entrance to the cellars, of which there are three tiers, all lofty and well-ventilated galleries, very regular in their construction, and faced with either stone or brick. In these extensive vaults are casks of fine reserved wines for blending with youthful vintages, and bottles of _vin brut_, built up in solid stacks, that may be reckoned by their hundreds of thousands. At Messrs. Giesler's the disgorging of the wine is accomplished in a small cellier partially underground, and the temperature of which is very cool and equable. The _dégorgeurs_, isolated from the rest of the workpeople, are carrying on their operations here by candlelight. So soon as the sediment is removed the bottles are raised in baskets to the cellier above, where the liqueuring, re-corking, stringing, and wiring are successively accomplished. By pursuing this plan the loss sustained by the disgorgement is believed to be reduced to a minimum.

Extensive as these premises are they are still insufficient for the requirements of the firm, and across the road is a spacious building where new bottles are stored and the washing of the bottles in preparation for the tirage takes place. By the aid of the machinery provided, sixteen women, assisted by a couple of men, commonly wash some fifteen or sixteen thousand bottles in the course of a day. Here, too, stands one of the two large presses with which at the epoch of the vintage a hundred pièces of wine are pressed every four-and-twenty hours. The remaining press is installed in a cellier at the farther end of the garden on the other side of the road. Messrs. Giesler possess additional presses at their vendangeoir at Bouzy, and during the vintage have the command of presses at Ay, Verzenay, Vertus, Le Mesnil, &c., it being a rule of theirs always to press the grapes within a few hours after they are gathered to obviate their becoming bruised by their own weight and imparting a dark colour to the wine, a contingency difficult to guard against in seasons when the fruit is over-ripe. The firm own vineyards at Avize, and have agreements with vine-proprietors at Ay, Bouzy, Verzenay, and elsewhere, to purchase their crops regularly every year. Messrs. Giesler's brand has secured its existing high repute solely through the fine quality of the wines shipped by the house--wines which are known and appreciated by all real connoisseurs of champagne.

From Messrs. Giesler's it is merely a short walk to the establishment of M. Charles de Cazanove, situated in the principal street of Avize. On entering the court we encountered a tame young boar engaged in the lively pursuit of chasing some terrified hens, while a trio of boarhounds, basking on the sunny flagstones, contemplated his proceedings with lazy indifference. Boars abound in the woods hereabouts, and hunting them is a favourite pastime with the residents, and the young boar we had noticed proved to be one of the recent captures of the sons of M. de Cazanove, who are among the warmest partisans of the exciting sport. Many of the boars found in the woods around Reims journey thither, it is said, by night from the famous forest of the Ardennes--the scene of Rosalind's wanderings and Touchstone's eccentricities as set forth in _As You Like It_, and whose gloomy depths and tangled glens shelter to-day not merely boars but wolves as well.

In the Champagne it is no longer the fashion

"With javelin's point a churlish swine to gore,"

nor to hunt the boar on horseback, as is still the case in Burgundy. When the presence of one or more of these animals is signalled in the neighbourhood, a party starts off accompanied by dogs and armed with double-barrelled rifles. A circle having been formed round the boar's lair the dogs are set to draw him out, while the _chasseurs_ keep on the alert so as not to allow him to escape through their circle alive. In this manner a few score of boars are killed every year in the woods round about Reims and Epernay.

The house of M. Charles de Cazanove was established in 1843 by its present proprietor on the foundation of a business which had been in existence since 1811. Compared with the monumental grandeur of some of the great Reims and Epernay establishments the premises present a simple and modest aspect, nevertheless they are capacious and commodious, besides which the growing business of the house has led to the acquisition of additional cellarage in other parts of Avize. More important than all, however, is the quality of the wine with which these cellars are stocked, and following the rule observed by champagne firms of the highest repute, it has been a leading principle with M. de Cazanove always to rely upon the choicer growths--those light, delicate, and fragrant wines of the Marne which throw out the true aroma of the flower of the vine. M. de Cazanove, who is distinguished for his knowledge of viticulture, occupies an influential position at Avize, being Vice-President of the Horticultural Society of the Marne, and a member of the committee charged with guarding the Champagne vineyards against the invasion of the phylloxera. His own vines include only those fine varieties to which the crûs of the Marne owe their great renown. He possesses an excellent vineyard at Grauves, near Avize, and his mother-in-law, Madame Poultier, of Pierry, is one of the principal vine-growers of the district.

M. de Cazanove's wines are much appreciated in Paris, where his business is very extensive. His shipments to England are also considerable, but from the circumstance of some of his principal customers importing the wine under special brands of their own, the brand of the house is not so widely known as we should have expected.

From M. de Cazanove's terraced garden in the rear of his establishment a fine view is obtained of one of the most famous viticultural districts of the Champagne, yielding wines of remarkable delicacy and exquisite bouquet. On the left hand rises up the mountain of Avize, its summit fringed with dense woods, where in winter the wild boar has his lair. In front stretch the long vine-clad slopes of Cramant, with orchards at their base, and the housetops of the village and the spire of the quaint old church just peeping over the brow of the hill. To the right towers the bold forest-crowned height of Saran with M. Moët's château perched half-way up its north-eastern slope, and fading away in the hazy distance are the monotonous plains of the Champagne.

We have already explained that the wines of Avize and Cramant rank as _premiers crûs_ of the white grape district, and that every champagne manufacturer of repute mingles one or the other in his _cuvée_. The white grapes are usually gathered a fortnight or three weeks later than the black varieties, but in other respects the vintaging of them is the same. The grapes undergo the customary minute examination by the _éplucheuses_, and all unripe, damaged, and rotten berries being thrown aside, the fruit is conveyed with due care to the press-houses in the large baskets known as _paniers mannequins_. The pressing takes place under exactly the same conditions as the pressing of the black grapes; the must, too, is drawn off into hogsheads to ferment, and by the end of the year, when the active fermentation has terminated, the wine is usually clear and limpid.

At Rilly-la-Montagne, on the line of railway between Reims and Epernay, Roper frères & Cie., late of Epernay, now have their establishment. Starting from the latter place we pass Ay and Avenay, and then the little village of Germaine in the midst of the forest, and nigh the summit of the mountain of Reims, with its "Rendezvous des Chasseurs" in immediate proximity to the station. Finally we arrive at Rilly, which, spite of its isolated situation, has about it that aspect of prosperity common to the more favourable wine districts of France. This is scarcely surprising when the quality of its wines is taken into consideration. The still red wine of Rilly has long enjoyed a high local reputation, and to-day the Rilly growths are much sought after for conversion into champagne. White wine of 1874 from black grapes fetched, we were informed, as much as from 600 to 700 francs the pièce, while the finer qualities from white grapes realised from 300 to 400 francs. Messrs. Roper frères & Cie. are the owners of some productive vineyards situated on the high road to Chigny and Ludes.

The establishment of Roper frères is adjacent to a handsome modern house standing back from the road in a large and pleasant garden, bounded by vineyards on two of its sides. In the celliers all the conveniences pertaining to a modern champagne establishment are to be found, while extending beneath the garden are the extensive cellars of the firm, comprising two stories of long and spacious galleries excavated in the chalk, their walls and roofs being supported whenever necessary by masonry. A curious feature about these cellars is that the roots of the larger trees in the garden above have penetrated through the roof of the upper story and hang pendent overhead like innumerable stalactites. Here after the comparatively new wine of 1874 had been shown to us--including samples of the _Vin Brut_ or natural champagne of which the firm make a speciality at a moderate price--some choice old champagnes were brought forth, including the fine vintages of 1865, 1857, and 1846. The latter wine had of course preserved very little of its effervescence, still its flavour was exceedingly fine, being soft and delicate to a degree. At the Vienna Exhibition of 1873 and the London Exhibition of 1874 the collection of champagnes exhibited by Roper frères met with favourable recognition from the international juries.

Our tour through the Champagne vineyards and wine-cellars here comes to an end. It is true there are important establishments at Châlons, notably those of Jacquesson et fils, the Perriers, Freminet et fils, and Jacquard frères, the cellars of the first-named being, perhaps, unrivalled in the Champagne. As, however, any description of these establishments would be little else than a recapitulation of something we have already said, we content ourselves with merely notifying their existence, and bring our Facts about Champagne to a close with the translation of a poem from the pen of M. Amaury de Cazanove of Avize:--

CHAMPAGNE.

Less for thy grace and glory, land of ours, Than for thy dolour, dear; Let the grief go, and here-- Here's to thy skies, thy women and thy flowers! France! take the toast, thy women and thy roses, France! to thy wine, more wealth unto thy store! And let the lips a grievous memory closes Smile their proud smile once more!

Swarthy Falernian, Massica the Red, Were ye the nectars poured At the great gods' broad board? No, poor old wines, all but in name long dead, Nectar's Champagne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That bubbling o'er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth.

"I am the blood Burgundian sunshine makes; A fine old feudal knight Of bluff and boisterous might, Whose casque feels--ah, so heavy when one wakes!" "And I, the dainty Bordeaux, violets' Perfume, and whose rare rubies gourmets prize. My subtile savour gets In partridge wings its daintiest allies."

Ah, potent chiefs, Bordeaux and Burgundy. If we must answer make, This sober counsel take: Messeigneurs, sing your worth less haughtily, For 'tis Champagne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That bubbling o'er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth.

Aye, 'tis the true, the typic wine of France; Aye, 'tis our heart that sparkles in our eyes, And higher beats for every dire mischance; It was the wit that made our fathers wise, That made their valour gallant, gay, When plumes were stirr'd by winds of waving swords, And chivalry's defiance spoke the words: "À vous, Messieurs les Anglais, les premiers!"

Let the dull beer-apostle till he's hoarse Vent his small spleen and spite, Fate fill his sleepless night With nightmares of invincible remorse! We sing Champagne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That bubbling o'er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth.

XIII.--SPARKLING SAUMUR AND SPARKLING SAUTERNES.

The Sparkling Wines of the Loire often palmed off as Champagnes-- The Finer qualities Improve with Age-- Anjou the Cradle of the Plantagenet Kings-- Saumur and its Dominating Feudal Château and Antique Hôtel de Ville-- Its Sinister Rue des Payens and Steep Tortuous Grande Rue-- The Vineyards of the Coteau of Saumur-- Abandoned Stone Quarries converted into Dwellings-- The Vintage in Progress-- Old-fashioned Pressoirs-- The Making of the Wine-- The Vouvray Vineyards-- Balzac's Picture of La Vallée Coquette-- The Village of Vouvray and the Château of Moncontour-- Vernou with its Reminiscences of Sully and Pépin-le-Bref-- The Vineyards around Saumur-- Remarkable Ancient Dolmens-- Ackerman-Laurance's Establishment at Saint-Florent-- Their Extensive Cellars, Ancient and Modern-- Treatment of the Newly-Vintaged Wine-- The Cuvée-- Proportions of Wine from Black and White Grapes-- The Bottling and Disgorging of the Wine and Finishing Operations-- The Château of Varrains and the Establishment of M. Louis Duvau aîné-- His Cellars a succession of Gloomy Galleries-- The Disgorging of the Wine accomplished in a Melodramatic-looking Cave-- M. Duvau's Vineyard-- His Sparkling Saumur of Various Ages-- Marked Superiority of the more Matured Samples-- M. Alfred Rousteaux's Establishments at Saint-Florent and Saint-Cyr-- His convenient Celliers and extensive Cellars-- Mingling of Wine from the Champagne with the finer Sparkling Saumur-- His Vineyard at La Perrière-- M. E. Normandin's Sparkling Sauternes Manufactory at Châteauneuf-- Angoulême and its Ancient Fortifications-- Vin de Colombar-- M. Normandin's Sparkling Sauternes Cuvée-- His Cellars near Châteauneuf-- High recognition accorded to the Wine at the Concours Régional d'Angoulême.

After the Champagne Anjou is the French province which ranks next in importance for its production of sparkling wines. Vintaged on the banks of the Loire, these are largely consigned to the English and other markets, labelled Crême de Bouzy, Sillery and Ay Mousseux, Cartes Noires and Blanches, and the like, while their corks are branded with the names of phantom firms, supposed to be located at Reims and Epernay. As a rule these wines come from around Saumur, but they are not necessarily the worse on that account, for the district produces capital sparkling wines, the finer qualities of which improve greatly by being kept for a few years. One curious thing shown to us at Saumur was the album of a manufacturer of sparkling wines containing examples of the many hundred labels ticketed with which his produce had for years past been sold. Not one of these labels assigned to the wines the name of their real maker or their true birthplace, but introduced them under the auspices of mythical dukes and counts, as being manufactured at châteaux which are so many "castles in Spain," and as coming from Ay, Bouzy, Châlons, Epernay, Reims, and Verzenay, but never by any chance from Saumur.

Being produced from robuster growths than the sparkling wines of the Department of the Marne, sparkling saumur will always lack that excessive lightness which is the crowning grace of fine champagne, still it has only to be kept for a few years instead of being drunk shortly after its arrival from the wine-merchant for its quality to become greatly improved and its intrinsic value to be considerably enhanced. We have drunk sparkling saumur that had been in bottle for nearly twenty years, and found the wine not only remarkably delicate, but, singular to say, with plenty of effervescence.

To an Englishman Anjou is one of the most interesting of the ancient provinces of France. It was the cradle of the Plantagenet Kings, and only ten miles from Saumur still repose the bones of Henry, the first Plantagenet, and Richard of the Lion Heart, in the so-called Cimetière des Rois of the historic abbey of Fontevrault. The famous vineyards of the Coteau de Saumur, eastward of the town and bordering the Loire, extend as far as here, and include the communes of Dampierre, Souzay, Varrains, Chacé, Parnay, Turquant, and Montsoreau, the last-named within three miles of Fontevrault, and chiefly remarkable through its seigneur of ill-fame, Jean de Chambes, who instigated his wife to lure Boissy d'Amboise to an assignation in order that he might more surely poignard him. Saumur is picturesquely placed at the foot of this bold range of heights near where the little river Thouet runs into the broad and rapid Loire. A massive-looking old château perched on the summit of an isolated crag stands out grandly against the clear sky and dominates the town, the older houses of which crouch at the foot of the lofty hill and climb its steepest sides. The restored antique Hôtel de Ville, in the pointed style, with its elegant windows, graceful belfry, and florid wrought-iron balconies, stands back from the quay bordering the Loire. In the rear is the Rue des Payens, whither the last of the Huguenots of this "metropolis of Protestantism," as it was formerly styled, retired, converting their houses into so many fortresses to guard against being surprised by their Catholic adversaries. Adjacent is the steep tortuous Grande Rue, of which Balzac--himself a Tourangeau--has given such a graphic picture in his _Eugénie Grandet_, the scene of which is laid at Saumur. To-day, however, only a few of its ancient carved timber houses, quaint overhanging corner turrets, and fantastically-studded massive oak doors have escaped demolition.

The vineyards of the Coteau de Saumur, yielding the finest wines, are reached by the road skirting the river, the opposite low banks of which are fringed with willows and endless rows of poplars, which at the time of our visit were already golden with the fading tints of autumn. Numerous fantastic windmills crown the heights, the summit of which is covered with vines, varied by dense patches of woodland. Here, as elsewhere along the banks of the Loire, the many abandoned quarries along the face of the hill have been turned by the peasants into cosy dwellings by simply walling-up the entrances while leaving, of course, the necessary apertures for doors and windows. Dampierre, the first village reached, has many of these cave-dwellings, and numbers of its houses are picturesquely perched up the sides of the slope. The holiday costumes of the peasant women encountered in the neighbourhood of Saumur are exceedingly quaint, their elaborate and varied head-dresses being counterparts of _coiffures_ in vogue so far back as three and four centuries ago.

Quitting the banks of the river, we ascend a steep tortuous road shut in on either side by high stone walls--for hereabouts all the best vineyards are scrupulously inclosed--and finally reach the summit of the heights, whence a view is gained over what the Saumurois proudly style the grand valley of the Loire. Everywhere around the vintage is going on. The vines are planted rather more than a yard apart, and those yielding black grapes are trained, as a rule, up tall stakes, although some few are trained espalier fashion. Women dexterously detach the bunches with pruning-knives and throw them into the _seilles_--small squat buckets with wooden handles--the contents of which are emptied from time to time into baskets--the counterpart of the chiffonnier's _hotte_, and coated with pitch inside so as to close all the crevices of the wickerwork--which the _portes-bastes_ carry slung to their backs. When white wine is being made from black grapes for sparkling saumur the grapes are conveyed in these baskets forthwith to the underground pressoirs in the neighbouring villages before their skins get at all broken in order that the wine may be as pale as possible in colour.

The black grape yielding the best wine in the Saumur district is the breton, said to be the same as the carbinet-sauvignon, the leading variety in the grand vineyards of the Médoc. Other species of black grapes cultivated around Saumur are the varennes, yielding a soft and insipid wine of no kind of value, and the liverdun, or large gamay, the prevalent grape in the Mâconnais, and the same which in the days of Philippe-le-Hardi the _parlements_ of Metz and Dijon interdicted the planting and cultivation of. The prevalent white grapes are the large and small pineau blanc, the bunches of the former being of an intermediate size, broad and pyramidal in shape, and with the berries close together. These have fine skins, are oblong in shape, and of a transparent yellowish-green hue tinged with red, are very sweet and juicy, and as a rule ripen late. As for the small pineau, the bunches are less compact, the berries are round and of a golden tint, are finer as well as sweeter in flavour, and ripen somewhat earlier than the fruit of the larger variety.

We noticed as we drove through the villages of Champigny and Varrains--the former celebrated for its fine red wines, and more especially its crû of the Clos des Cordeliers--that hardly any of the houses had windows looking on to the narrow street, but that all were provided with low openings for shooting the grapes into the cellar where, when making red wine, they are trodden, but when making white wine, whether from black or white grapes, they are invariably pressed. Each of the houses had its ponderous porte-cochère and low narrow portal leading into the large inclosed yard at its side, and over the high blank walls vines were frequently trained and pleasantly varied their dull grey monotony.

The grapes on being shot into the openings just mentioned fall through a kind of tunnel into a reservoir adjacent to the heavy press, which is invariably of wood and of the old-fashioned cumbersome type. They are forthwith placed beneath the press and usually subjected to five separate squeezes, the must from the first three being reserved for sparkling wine, while that from the two latter, owing to its being more or less deeply tinted, only serves for table wine. The must is at once run off into casks in order that it may not ferment on the grape-skins and imbibe any portion of their colouring matter. Active fermentation speedily sets in and lasts for a fortnight or three weeks according to whether the temperature chances to be high or low.