In the adjacent château, the gardens of which slope down
to the Marne canal, there are various interesting portraits, with one or two relics of the distinguished founder of the Montebello family, notably Marshal Lannes’s gold-embroidered velvet saddle trappings, his portrait and that of Marshal Gerard, as well as one of Napoleon I., by David, with a handsome clock and candelabra of Egyptian design, a bust of Augustus Cæsar, and a portrait of the Regent d’Orléans.
Another champagne house of standing at Mareuil is that of Bruch-Foucher and Co., whose establishment is situated near the village mairie. Entering by a lofty porte-cochère, we notice on the left hand a spacious packing-room, where men and women are expeditiously completing some shipping order, while beyond are the offices, looking on to a terraced garden whence a pleasant view is gained of the verdant valley of the Marne. From the packing-room a broad staircase leads to the cellars beneath, which can also be reached from a venerable range of buildings on the opposite side of the road, where young wines and old cognac spirit, used in the preparation of the liqueur, are stored in the wood.
In one of these ancient celliers is a vast tun, capable of containing nearly 5,000 gallons, carved over with an elaborate device of vineleaves and bunches of grapes entwined around overflowing cornucopia and bottles of champagne. This handsome cask, in which the firm make their cuvée, is a worthy rival of the sole antique ornamental tun that still reposes in the Royal cellars at Wurzburg. In Messrs. Bruch-Foucher and Co.’s capacious cellars, faced and vaulted with stone, from eight to nine hundred thousand bottles of wine are stored. The cellars form a single story, and extend partly under the adjacent vineyard slopes, deriving light and ventilation from numerous shafts which are occasionally no less than 150 feet in height. Messrs. Bruch-Foucher and Co., who are owners of vineyards at Mareuil, ship three qualities of champagne, the finest being their Carte d’Or and their Monogram Carte Blanche. Their chief business is with England, Germany, and the United States, where their brands enjoy considerable repute.
DOORWAY OF AVIZE CHURCH.
[ XII.—Champagne Establishments at Avize and Rilly.]
Avize the Centre of the White Grape District—Its Situation and Aspect—The Establishment of Giesler and Co.—The Tirage and the Cuvée—Vin Brut in Racks and on Tables—The Packing-Hall, the Extensive Cellars, and the Disgorging Cellier—Bottle Stores and Bottle-Washing Machines—Messrs. Giesler’s Wine-Presses at Avize and Vendangeoir at Bouzy—Their Vineyards and their Purchases of Grapes—Reputation of the Giesler Brand—The Establishment of M. Charles de Cazanove—A Tame Young Boar—Boar-Hunting in the Champagne—M. de Cazanove’s Commodious Cellars and Carefully-Selected Wines—Vineyards Owned by Him and His Family—Reputation of his Wines in Paris and their Growing Popularity in England—Interesting View from M. de Cazanove’s Terraced Garden—The Vintaging of the White Grapes in the Champagne—Roper frères’ Establishment at Rilly-la-Montagne—Their Cellars Penetrated by Roots of Trees—Some Samples of Fine Old Champagnes—The Principal Châlons Establishments—Poem on Champagne by M. Amaury de Cazanove.
Avize, situated in the heart of the Champagne white grape district, may be reached from Epernay by road through Pierry and Cramant or by the Châlons Railway to Oiry Junction, between which station and Romilly there runs a local line, jocularly termed the chemin de fer de famille, from the general disregard displayed by the officials for anything approaching to punctuality. Avize can scarcely be styled a town, and yet its growing proportions are beyond those of an ordinary village. It lies pleasantly nestled among the vines, sheltered by bold ridges on the north-west, with the monotonous plains of La Champagne pouilleuse, unsuited to the cultivation of the vine, stretching away eastward in the direction of Châlons. Avize cannot pretend to the same antiquity as its neighbour Vertus, and lacks the many picturesque vestiges of which the latter can boast. Its church dates back only to the 15th century, although the principal doorway in the Romanesque style evidently belongs to a much earlier epoch. There is a general air of trim prosperity about the place, and the villagers have that well-to-do appearance common to the inhabitants of the French wine districts. Only at vintage time, however, are there any particular outdoor signs of activity, although half a score of champagne firms have their establishments here, giving employment to the bulk of the population, and sending forth their two or three million bottles of the sparkling wine of the Marne annually.
