What is Blanc de Meunier Champagne?

Many of us will be familiar with Blanc de Noir (white of black) on a bottle of Champagne, though somewhat a little rarer is the term Blanc de Meunier (white of Meunier).

I am sure wine experts and many wine lovers will either know or have guessed it already, but the term of Blanc de Meunier translates as being the white juice from the black grape of Meunier. The main three grapes used in the making of Champagne are one white variety and two black varieties – Chardonnay (white), Pinot Noir (black) and Meunier (black).

Approximately one third of the Champagne wine growing region is dedicated to the Meunier grape variety, though slightly less famed than its two other well known counterparts in the making of the famous wine from this region, in recent years it has once again gained popularity with many houses dedicating labels to 100% Meunier or as we mentioned, Blanc de Meunier.

 

One such winery that boasts Blanc de Meunier is the Champagne House of Laurent Lequart. You will find this grower wine maker in Passy-Grigny, the heart of the Vallée de la Marne region.

“11 hectare farm, the vast majority of our production is concentrated on the emblematic grape variety of the Marne Valley: Le Meunier.”

A selection of fine pur Meunier Champagne you will find on their website to include the one label we reviewed for this article – Blanc de Meunier from the Gourmet range: “Soft walnut, citrus, herbaceous nose. Strong and punchy style in the palate with a fresh citrus driven with nutty and chalky characters.“