The Meunier Makeover

A grape with a long and sometimes troubled history, Pinot Meunier is enjoying popularity once again – not just in its traditional homeland of Champagne, but in the vineyards of England and America’s west coast, as well. Alice Lascelles finds out more

- Alice Lascelles

Stripped of their grapes, vines can be hard to tell apart. But there is one variety whose silvery-grey leaves are instantly recognizable, and that is Pinot Meunier.

Named after the French word for ‘miller’, on account of the floury-looking down that adorns each leaf, this distinctive vine was once the most widely planted in the Champagne appellation. Later budding (and therefore more frost-resistant) than Pinot Noir, and also higher-yielding, it was prized for being a dependable workhorse, well suited to the cooler climes of northern France, and particularly the frost-prone vineyards of Champagne’s Marne Valley.

But as competition between Champagne and Burgundy grew, Pinot Meunier started to lose ground to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Plantings declined and so did its reputation – a demotion from which the black grape has seemingly never fully recovered.

Today, according to the CIVC (Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne), Pinot Meunier accounts for 31% of all plantings in the AP, putting it neck-and-neck with Chardonnay and just a few percents behind Pinot Noir. It remains a key component in many blends, adding a touch of floral, slightly spicy fruitiness that can often be exactly what’s needed to reconcile the nerviness of Chardonnay and the weight of Pinot Noir.

Yet the stigma persists. Critics accuse Meunier of being flabby, overly fruity and a poor performer in the cellar. It’s also often claimed that a village planted with Meunier can’t be classified as grand cru – a story that the CIVC assures me is a complete myth. With a few distinguished exceptions such as Krug – which has always proudly highlighted the role of Pinot Meunier in its Grand Cuvée – most luxury cuvées don’t use the grape at all.