History
Located in a small valley perpendicular to the Marne river, in the village of Cuisles, our estate has been growing a very unique Meunier on a green clay terroir since 1923.
Our vineyard is spread on 3 different villages for the most part, yet all our plots are located on the same slope, all south exposed. Everyday, we are making every effort to step aside and highlight this variety and this unique terroir.
Our ancestors have been growers from father to son for 12 generations, and winemakers for 4 generations. Today we are rethinking every step and action to limit our environmental impact. Nature is our working tool; it is our duty to look after it.
Vinification happens with the least possible intervention, and clear objectives: pure and natural Meunier, with tension.
1923 – First bottle produced by Eugène Moussé
From the 17th century to the present day, winegrowers from father to son since 1629 and winemakers for 4 generations, the Moussé family has always lived along the Marne valley. First in Saint Eugène, then in Cuisles since 1880, they cultivate their vines and sell the grapes to the wine trade.
Born in 1896, Eugène Moussé was one of two winegrowers in the canton to decide to make his own Champagne. He took this decision following the crisis of 1922, during which the price of grapes collapsed. He bought his first press and a few barrels, and this was the beginning of a great story.
Eugene Moussé (on the left), his sister Angèle Moussé (in the middle with the white apron), a Lamblot child (in black) and Clara Moreau, Eugene's mother (holding the bucket).
1926 – First commercialization
In 1926, Eugène asked Evrard THOMAS, owner of the first car in Cuisles, a Citroën B14, to take him to Paris with some bottles. There they met an American who was starting a catering business. After a few years, this young caterer bought all of Eugène’s production.
For years, Eugène took his bottles in wooden crates to the Port-à-Binson station. He made the journey on Mr Fresne’s black half-race horse, named Mona, which was pulling an upholsterer.
Once delivered to the station, the Champagne crates were taken by train to Paris. The American caterer collected them from the Gare de l’Est until the Second World War.
A family in front of the Citroën B14 of Evrard Thomas.
1939-1945 – Second World War
Until the 1939 conflict, the clientele was growing, but unfortunately, the war put a temporary end to Eugène’s efforts.
June 24, 1943: Edmond, Eugène’s son, and his friend Jean Loé sawed the pylon in the middle of the Cuisles vineyards to cut off the German power supply. It is said that the inhabitants could hear the saws from the village at dawn on 24 June.
August 1943: The Possum network was set up to rescue parachuted British and American airmen. It extended from the Belgium-Luxembourg province to the Reims-Fismes-Soissons triangle and made it easier to take off from the valley to London.
On November 15, 1943, Eugène sheltered for a dozen days two parachuted airmen, the Englishman Ian Robb and the American lieutenant Carlyle Darling.
The Possum network fell on December 28, 1943, when the Gestapo burst in at 161 rue Lesage in Reims during radio exchanges with London. There are many reasons for the fall of the Possum network, but the most obvious seems to be the indiscretions and carelessness of the Resistance fighters and pilots awaiting repatriation.
At the end of 1943, the entire Marne resistance was decimated by simultaneous, prepared and programmed arrests.
1944 – The arrest of Eugene and Edmond
On June 21, 1944, Eugène and Edmond, both resistance fighters, are arrested by the Gestapo. The Germans come to arrest them, when an officer finds a Sten gun on the buffet. They decide not to search the house. This was a chance for Jacques Hodin, a Resistance leader, who was hiding in one of their rooms.
The Moussés were first taken to the Gestapo headquarters in Reims, rue Jeanne d’Arc. Each was interrogated separately.
As the prison in Reims had been bombed, they were taken by truck to the prison in Châlons sur Marne and then to Compiègne. Suzanne, Eugène’s wife, went to Compiègne by bicycle to try to get news of her husband. She left him a note through the fence via one of the prisoners. It was never known if Eugène ever read it.
They were first deported to Neuengamme, a labour camp where clay was extracted for brick production.
They were then assigned to the Bremen-Farge commando to help build the Valentin bunker. They do not see each other during this period, and Edmond is completely unaware of his father’s whereabouts until his death.
Edmond then found himself in the rubble of Hamburg helping to clear bombs dropped by the Allies.
The details of Eugene’s deportation are not known, but it is known that he was deported to Watensted-Salzgitter, a bomb and ammunition manufacturing camp.
Unfortunately, he lost his life to typhus in the Ravensbrück concentration camp on 12 April 1945.
His wife Suzanne took over the farm with great courage until their son Edmond recovered.
1947 – The Renaissance of Champagne Moussé
After the war, Edmond, driven by a passion for winemaking, shared and trained many winemakers in the valley.
The post-war period made him want to enjoy life. Every minute shared with his family, friends or just picking morels was important.
Illness, followed by his death in 1990, deprived him of the pleasure of continuing the development with his son Jean-Marc who joined him on the exploitation.
1976 – Jean Marc’s first harvest
As a huge fan of his vines and his wine, Jean Marc started the ecological transition very early. Shortly after his installation, he began to plant grass in his vineyards and rethought the entire production process.
As a builder, he erected a new press in 1990 which later became the current reception room.
In 2009, with Cédric, he created a new, completely eco-designed production cellar.
In 2013, his momentum was cut short by an accident. Cédric will finish the vinification he had started. A committed man, he was mayor of Cuisles for 25 years.
2003 – The adventure continues for Cédric
After a few years of training in different vineyards and at the CIVC’s experimental winery, Cédric spends a lot of time experimenting in the vines of the family exploitation.
The desire to go very far in an ultra-responsible production with a deep sustainability is quickly emerging.
In 2014, the challenge of completely stopping the use of synthetic pesticides was met. Since then, the requirements have been very clear: produce better and cleaner.
In 2017, a breakthrough was made in winemaking. A single idea in mind, to remove all masks (sugar at disgorgement, oenological products, petroleum sulphur, new wood, oxidation…). This was the start of years of research and a profound change in the wines.
Following a meeting with Fred Niger, a brilliant winemaker from Muscadet, the next few years will be devoted to raising the vibratory level of the wines.
Various projects are underway, always with the objective of zero carbon and quality improvement in mind. The future will be interesting.