Overview
Tauxières-Mutry, usually shortened to Tauxières, is a premier cru village of the Grande Montagne de Reims in Champagne. Under the échelle des crus it was rated 99 percent, a rating shared only with Mareuil-sur-Aÿ; the two were the highest-ranked premier cru villages in the appellation, one point short of grand cru. The village has roughly 240 hectares under vine, planted about 79 percent Pinot Noir, 16 percent Chardonnay and 5 percent Pinot Meunier, farmed by local growers and Champagne houses. Most of the fruit is sold to houses and cooperatives; only a handful of growers bottle under their own labels.
History
The commune was formed in 1882 by the fusion of two villages of Gallo-Roman origin, Tauxières and Mutry. Its vineyards were rated 99 percent under the échelle des crus, the village-by-village scale first drawn up in 1911 and formally agreed in 1919 to fix grape prices across Champagne, leaving it just outside the grand cru tier despite bordering three grand cru villages. The échelle ceased to have official force in 2010, but the premier cru designation remains in use on labels. On January 1, 2016 Tauxières-Mutry merged with the neighboring grand cru Louvois into the new commune of Val-de-Livre; the village name continues to identify the cru. Bollinger has long held vineyards in the village and has released PN TX17 and PN TX20, editions of its PN Pinot Noir series in which Tauxières fruit leads the blend, completed by wines from other villages.
Terroir & Climate
Tauxières lies on the southern flank of the Montagne de Reims, in the small valley of the Livre, a right-bank tributary of the Marne that flows down through Louvois and Tauxières and gives the merged commune its name. Its neighbors include Fontaine-sur-Aÿ to the west, Louvois to the northeast, Bouzy to the east-southeast and Tours-sur-Marne to the south-southeast; three of these are grand crus. The vineyard slopes are mostly south and east facing with moderate inclination, on the chalk bedrock characteristic of the Montagne de Reims, under clay-bearing topsoils. Named lieux-dits include Les Argentières, Le Haut des Argentières, Le Clos des Fourches, La Croix Rouge and Les Putiers. The climate is the cool continental regime of northern Champagne, with the southern exposure aiding ripeness in Pinot Noir.
Grape Varieties & Wine Styles
The village falls entirely within the Champagne AOC and follows its rules; the premier cru mention may be used for wines made solely from premier cru and grand cru fruit. Tauxières is black-grape country: Pinot Noir dominates the plantings, in the style of the neighboring Bouzy and Louvois, and the village's fruit is valued for structured, vinous base wines. Chardonnay occupies a smaller share and Meunier is marginal. Because most production is sold on, the village's character is expressed chiefly inside house blends rather than in village-labeled bottlings; Bollinger's Tauxières-led PN TX editions are the most visible exception.
Notable Producers
Bollinger owns around 18 hectares in Tauxières, one of the house's principal Pinot Noir sources alongside Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois and Verzenay. Grower-producers based in the village include Yves Louvet and Barbier-Louvet. The greater part of the harvest is delivered to négociant houses and cooperatives.
What to Know
Tauxières-Mutry and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ are the reference points for the top of the premier cru tier: 99 percent villages that missed grand cru by a single point, surrounded by grand cru neighbors. A blend or single-village wine drawing on Tauxières fruit sits stylistically with the Pinot Noir crus of the southern Grande Montagne (Bouzy, Louvois, Ambonnay) rather than with the lighter Petite Montagne. The commune is now administratively part of Val-de-Livre, but labels and vineyard registers continue to use the Tauxières name. Village-designated bottlings are scarce; Bollinger's PN TX editions, led by Tauxières fruit, are the most visible route to the cru.