The Origin of Chalk in France's Champagne Region
A Brief History of How the Soil of Champagne Was Formed
Jul 9, 2009
There is no doubt that part of the taste that is associated with Champagne comes from the region's unique soil composition. France’s most northerly appellation that is located 90 miles North-West of Paris places the Champagne region on the edges of the Ile de France. This is an enormous indented hollow otherwise referred to as the Paris Basin, since it contains the capital city and most of the banlieues.
Formed some 245 million years ago when much of France was submerged beneath shallow tropical seas. This young region, lay further south of its present location as the forces of plate tectonics were yet to drive it North. Here, positioned somewhere around the equator, the warm temperatures and nutrient rich seas teemed with life. Thousands of small organisms such as foraminiferens and coccoliths, simple organisms with hard chambered shells composed of calcium carbonate, flourished. When these organisms died they slowly sunk, where, as the organic material decayed, the calcium carbonate shell was left to integrate into the mineral component of the of the sea floor sediment.
The Reason Why Champagne is So Highly Regarded
The unyielding power of plate tectonics slowly realigned the continental land masses, pushing the region North. Then, about 30 million years ago, this placetory sea suffered a disastrous earthquake that sent the Paris Basin surging upwards. The large mineral deposits and fossilised seas creatures that once lay on the bottom of the sea, rose to the surface and splintered, fracturing the layers of sediment and draining the land.
The uniqueness of the La Champagne Viticole, lies not just in the massive chalk deposits, but in the extremely high concentrations of the mineral marls, belemnite and micraster contained within the chalk. It is these rich deposits that were shifted in a further seismic upheaval 11 million years ago that broke up and raised the landscape 150-300m. This produced a sheer chain of chalk hills that now gives Champagne its distinguished terroir.
Most of the Grand and Premier Cru villages are found on belemnite chalk, while the older micraster chalk, which lies on the valley floor generally produces grapes further down Champagne's échelle. The superiority of the Grand Crus is partly due to their location higher up the gently rolling hills, where the aspect, drainage and slope give the grapes optimal positioning. However, it is also thought that belemnite chalk releases more limestone, allowing the grapes to retain higher natural acidities, and assisting in leaf photosynthesis.
Viticultural Benefits of a Chalk Soil
Chalk soils are extremely good at retaining water, filling the micro-pores with moisture during wet periods and then gradually releasing moisture as the soil dries. This helps the vines to survive droughts whist at the same time allowing the soil to remain porous enough to promote free drainage. The physical nature of the soil means the vine's roots can permeate deeper into the bedrock. On the surface, the high albedo (reflectivity) of chalk clods has also been shown to reflect some of the incoming sunlight back up into the vines canopy, thus improving flavour development in the grapes. As well as this, these soils can absorb and retain heat, acting as a buffer to the vines when the temperature cools, avoiding early season frost events and ensuring subsoil temperatures remain constant throughout the year
In the deep chalk cellars where Champagne bottles undergo the slow process of maturation and autolysis, it is difficult to avoid drawing parallels between the origins of the chalk soils and the Méthode Champenoise. Without the hard work of micro-organisms and the slow gravitational process of sedimentation, the creation of neither would be possible.
