Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Mareuil Castle was built in the middle of the 18th century in Mareuil-sur-Ay, in the department of Marne, on the initiative of Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas Thomas de Pange. The latter, seigneur of Domangeville, received the seigneury of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ as a wedding gift and had a Louis XV style castle built, completed in 1765. Between 1771 and 1774 he added red brick trimmings, inspired by Moselle's family castle, to embellish the home for his young wife.

After the death of Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas and his wife in 1778, their four children, including Anne-Louise de Domangeville, inherited the estate. Anne-Louise, married to the Count of Sérilly, held meetings with literary and political figures such as André Chénier and Joseph Joubert. Family disputes prompted the heirs to sell the castle in 1788 to the Duke of Orléans, future "Philippe Egalité", guillotine in 1793.

In the 19th century, the estate was acquired by the sons of Marshal Lannes, Duke of Montebello, who developed a winery with champagne Alfred de Montebello. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was there in the 1890s. After the 1929 crisis, the estate changed hands several times: bought by René Chayoux (who also raised the Ayala brand), then passed on to Jean-Michel Ducellier and his son Alain, before being sold to Swiss businessman Jean-Jacques Frey. The latter revived the castle after ceding the Ayala brand to Bollinger.

Designed by the architect Chevotet between 1771 and 1774, the castle combines red bricks and Louis XV decor. Its communes, organized in U, housed the wineries, including the cellars and the central tower dedicated to the administration of Montebello champagne. The park, redesigned in 1896 by Édouard Redont, includes a cooler, an orange shop and two 18th-century vegetable gardens. The ensemble was classified as a historical monument in 2003, thus preserving its architectural and landscape heritage.

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