"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.
[Illustration:
VINEYARDS OF AVIZE AND CRAMANT FROM THE GARDEN OF M. C. DE CAZANOVE.
(p. 135.)]
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:--