A chimeric mutation of Pinot Noir, Meunier differs from its parent chiefly in its leaves, whose young growth is coated in a floury white down — hence "meunier", the miller, dusted with flour. Its layered genetics make it the hardier vine: it buds later, escaping the spring frosts of the Vallée de la Marne, and ripens earlier, an insurance against a cold autumn.
For that reason it long formed the workhorse third of Champagne's three grapes, planted across the cooler Marne valley where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir struggle. Blenders valued its supple fruit and early drinkability but rarely named it, and it spent generations uncredited on the label. A newer generation of growers has reclaimed it, bottling single-varietal Meunier that shows its frank red-berry warmth — a modest grape lately allowed a voice of its own.