Saturday afternoon, an episode of violent but very localized hail caused damage in the Marne valley, near Epernay in the municipalities of Saint-Martin d’Ablois, Vinay and Pierry.
Even within the affected villages, the impact of this hail episode was very contrasting. At Champagne Esterlin, Frank Lesterlin, the director general, testifies: “ Isabelle, our vineyard manager, gave me the example of a village like Monthelon, where she has a small plot that was ravaged, and another 100 meters further which was barely affected. “Same sound of Mandois champagne bell, where Maximilien de Billy, the cellar chief, says:” Hail has passed over a very narrow corridor. In Pierry, a kilometer away, you can have a plot affected and another spared. In fact, the hail arrived by the Bois de Boursault, it descended towards Saint-Martin d’Ablois, to then come above Pierry and finally take the Chemin de Chouilly ». In Saint-Martin d’Ablois, the most affected village, the hailstones reached four or five centimeters.
“Like a very big cropping”
For the time being, the losses estimate is difficult. For Frank Lesterlin, an element may have reduced the damage, “The hailstones did not fall vertically, but slightly tilted.“As for Maximilien de Billy, when he examines damaged plots, he wants to believe that things are not necessarily irrapplappable.” We are at a stadium where the vine is starting to push. We are seven leaves. The bunches are not affected, either. In fact, it is as if there had been a very big cropping. It is not impossible that the vine will leave and that it still produces fruit. »
On the other hand, on the material side, some damage is irreparable. Frank Lesterlin draws up a first inventory: ” We have bumpy utility vehicles and the roof of one of our presses in Vinay has been damaged. »»
