Grape variety
Pinot Meunier
Pinot Meunier: the third Champagne grape and a mutation of Pinot Noir. Origin, name, style, where it grows and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Mutation of Pinot Noir from France, known since the 16th century
- Main regions
- Champagne (about 31 % of the vineyards, Marne valley), Württemberg (as Schwarzriesling), England, California, Australia
- Typical aromas
- Red berries, yellow fruit, soft and round
- Classic pairing
- Champagne as an aperitif with cheese puffs, boiled ham, poultry
- Name
- “Meunier” means miller: the white-downed leaves look dusted with flour
Pinot Meunier is the third grape of Champagne and the least known. Genetically it is almost indistinguishable from Pinot Noir: it is a mutation of Pinot Noir that was already known in the 16th century. The mutation sits in the outermost cell layer of the plant, while the inner layers match Pinot Noir, which is why it is called a chimera. The name means “miller”: the young leaves and shoots are covered in white down, as if dusted with flour. In Germany it is therefore called Müllerrebe or, in Württemberg, Schwarzriesling.
In Champagne, Meunier covers about 31 % of the vineyards, as much as Chardonnay; Pinot Noir leads with about 38 %. It is at home in the Marne valley, where clay-rich soils and a harsher climate prevail. There it is more dependable than its partners: it buds later and is therefore less exposed to spring frost. Other old varieties are permitted in Champagne, including Arbane and Petit Meslier, but together they make up only about 0.3 % of the vineyards.
In the blend it brings roundness and fruit: soft, juicy wines with yellow and red fruit, approachable earlier and ageing somewhat faster than those of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That is why it makes Champagne enjoyable young. It is no mere filler, though: Krug uses it too in its Grande Cuvée, alongside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Because dark berries have clear juice, Pinot Noir and Meunier can be pressed gently into white Champagne; a wine made only from those two is called Blanc de Noirs.
Outside Champagne it matters mostly in Germany. As Schwarzriesling or Müllerrebe it gives light, fruity reds; the area is about 1,700 hectares (2022), about 70 % of it in Württemberg. In southern England, California and Australia it is planted for sparkling wines made by the traditional method, mostly alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
At the table, a Champagne rich in Meunier suits cheese puffs, boiled ham, poultry and mushrooms; its fruit also tolerates a touch of spice. A Schwarzriesling from Württemberg is an easy companion to charcuterie, flammkuchen and roast pork. Both are served well chilled: the Champagne at 8 to 10 degrees, the red at about 14 degrees.