When Aurélien Laherte, who leads his family’s Laherte Frères estate, in Chavot-Courcourt, initially tasted the individual components of Les 7, his Champagne blend of seven of the nine permitted varieties of the region, Petit Meslier stood out. It was so vivid on its own that, in 2014, he planted an additional 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres) of it. Today, the estate farms about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of Petit Meslier. Laherte calls the variety “a bit too much rock and roll.” It is intensely aromatic, exceptionally fresh, and not to every drinker’s taste.
Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris (Fromenteau), Chardonnay Rose, and Voltis together account for roughly 0.5% of the vineyard area in Champagne, a region that is otherwise focused on the familiar Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier trio of grapes. While this is indeed a minuscule portion of Champagne’s vineyards, these minor grapes represent both the region’s viticultural history and a newer effort to test varieties bred for resilience. Chardonnay Rose, the most recently approved grape, is a naturally occurring pink-berried mutation of Chardonnay Blanc that has been documented in Champagne since around 1900. Voltis, permitted in the AOC since 2023, is a Variété d’Intérêt à Fin d’Adaptation (VIFA), allowed to be evaluated in commercial vineyards under controlled conditions. Voltis, sometimes mischaracterized as a genetically modified variety, is a modern crossing of Villaris and the disease-resistant breeding line Mtp 3159-2-12, developed in 2002 for greater resilience in the era of climate change. Two additional crossings, Orellis and Serelis, are pending approval for use as VIFA varieties.
Laherte can trace old Pinot Gris, Arbane, and Petit Meslier vines to the postwar years, when his grandparents replanted vineyards with material that did not always match its nursery designation. In 2003, Laherte and his father used massal selection to establish a field blend that became the basis for Les 7. Laherte explains, “It is family heritage and also the heritage of all Champagne. I think it is important to preserve it.”
Yet this can be a challenge, as practical knowledge about growing these minor grapes declined while the mainstream three gained popularity. Today, growers must relearn how to cultivate them. For Les 7, the seven varieties (Chardonnay Rose and Voltis are the two omitted of Champagne’s nine grapes) are farmed, harvested, pressed, and cofermented. Pinot Gris and Meunier bring earlier ripeness and breadth to the blend, while the later-ripening Arbane and Petit Meslier provide acidity. But Laherte resists giving each variety a permanent role, explaining, “Every year, you find a certain balance.”
Laherte decided to expand the Petit Meslier plantings based on his experience blending as well as the grape’s performance in the vineyard. He has found that Petit Meslier can reach maturity while retaining roughly 1.5 grams of acidity per liter more than Chardonnay. Petit Meslier’s pH can approach 2.8, compared with Chardonnay’s at roughly 3.0. These are results of testing in Laherte’s vineyards and cellar, not regional figures, but they suggest that Petit Meslier, once considered difficult to ripen, might thrive in warming conditions.
Laherte uses small amounts of Petit Meslier in blends where it can act, in his words, like “seasoning, pepper and salt.” A little can sharpen freshness without obscuring Meunier’s fruit or Chardonnay’s delicacy. For Laherte, who also makes a single-variety bottling of Petit Meslier, this is a grape that can succeed both alone and in a blend.
The siblings Claire and Laurent Dérot, who run Champagne Dérot-Delugny, have focused on Pinot Gris, which their grandfather Philippe Dérot planted among Meunier parcels. The family established a dedicated vineyard in 1996, then made a 100% Pinot Gris Champagne in 2009 to mark the estate’s 80th anniversary. Pinot Gris is challenging in the vineyard. It is highly susceptible to esca, needs regular vine replacement, and can be vulnerable to spring frost. Because the variety tends toward richness, picking time is crucial. In cooler, later-ripening sites, Claire finds that upper slopes, windy exposures, and clay-rich soils all slow sugar accumulation, resulting in wines with spice and freshness—contrasting the characterization of Champagne made with Pinot Gris as broad and heady. But that specificity of terroir also limits opportunities for Pinot Gris. Claire feels that suitable sites are scarce, and, with continued warming, they could become scarcer.
In the Côte des Bar, Champagne Rémy Massin et Fils planted Pinot Blanc in 1972, but there was initially too little fruit to vinify it varietally. Cédric Massin added another 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) in 2000 after tasting a local example of Pinot Blanc that convinced him of the grape’s potential. He has also observed that after frost damages primary shoots, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Meunier sometimes produce a small secondary crop from later-developing shoots. Growers may drop that fruit because it ripens later and less evenly than the primary crop, but it can be beneficial in a frost-heavy spring. This is another practical reason to continue farming Pinot Blanc, though the strongest argument for the grape is in the glass. In especially successful vintages, Massin makes one of the estate’s most prestigious vintage Champagnes entirely from Pinot Blanc, often intended for the Special Club designation. He believes that Pinot Blanc can translate a pure expression of terroir.
For growers, the main attraction of Voltis is its resistance to downy and powdery mildews, which can reduce the number of (but not eliminate) treatments needed to control those diseases. But pathogens can evolve, so some worry about the longevity of this resistance. The VIFA framework, however, gives growers time to test Voltis while limiting its influence. Voltis may account for up to 5% of a grower’s plantings and 10% of a finished blend. After an initial 10-year period, it can be proposed for permanent inclusion, withdrawn, or observed for another 5 years. Thierry Forget, the owner of Forget-Chemin and current president of Club Trésors de Champagne, has a small planting of Voltis. He is curious about how this variety will progress but is not currently using it in his Champagnes.
There’s no single likely outcome for Champagne’s lesser-known grapes. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier are poised to remain the region’s foundation for decades to come. But the alternative grapes, and the vineyard knowledge being gained through their cultivation, promise a range of possible responses to rising temperatures, disease pressure, and increasingly unpredictable growing seasons. Laherte’s decision to champion more Petit Meslier began with a single successful blend, yet the grape’s longevity and suitability will be measured by future generations.
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