Cork & Bottle's tasting panel travels to Champagne (May 5th - May 14th 2006;

First Impressions.

Where to start?!

When the idea took shape about 18 months ago to travel to Champagne for a long weekend, what transpired was not quite what we had in mind in those early days. The long weekend turned into more than a week and what was going to be 'soaking up the atmosphere', turned into some seriously good visits to a multitude of Champagne houses and a wonderful spectrum of tastings.

What I hadn't expected, first and foremost, is the incredible hospitality of those who make the Champagne, or simply work for someone who does. Without fail we were made to feel very welcome. It may have been the time of year, we're early in the season at the start of May, but I would like to think this was genuine and a tribute to the region.

I will be able to write for quite some time about the variety of experiences during our week in Champagne and I will endeavour to get them onto the site as soon as I can, but will need some time to do them justice. That's  why I'm now giving you some 'first impressions' and over time I will elaborate on the detail. I'm also looking to get a 'Quick Guide to Champagne' onto the site, which contains more general information on what constitutes Champagne. (click Champagne Guide to get a preview, but please be aware this is very much work in progress and totally unedited)

Before getting started I want to mention a couple of houses that impressed us, these are the ones I will elaborate on soon;

Champagne Gardet - Chigny-les-Roses

where we arrived unannounced on a rainy Tuesday morning and were treated to a comprehensive tasting by Mme. Aude.

Champagne Pierre Moncuit - Mesnil-sur-Oger

in the middle of Grand Cru Chardonnay country where despite major work on the buildings we had a wonderful tasting of the full range of these rarities.

Champagne Ruinart - Reims

a beautiful tour of the 'crayeres' (caves) and an exquisite tasting of Dom Ruinart 1996 and Dom Ruinart Rose 1990.

Champagne Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin - Reims

winemaker Cyril Brun made us very welcome and initiated us to Veuve's 2005 base wines (see photograph below) and repeated (read outdid) the Etain experience. He also changed our mind forever on Bouzy Rouge, the still red wine blended to make Rose Champagne. See Veuve Clicquot Visit for more details of this amazing visit.

The panel 'at work' in the tasting room of Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin.

Where to stay:

The Champagne region is dominated by two main centres, Reims and Epernay. They are connected by the N51 road and it takes no more than 20 minutes to travel from one to the other.

Most vineyards are south of Reims, but they spread out quite a bit east into the Vallee de la Marne and south-west to the Montagne de Reims, but also south of Epernay to the Cote des Blancs, meaning 'white slope', which grows almost exclusively Chardonnay.

We stayed in a 'gite' in Ville-en-Selve a small village on the edge of the forest south of Reims and in easy reach of both Reims and Epernay and beyond. Although hotels are plentiful in the region, gites are more difficult to find.

When staying outside Reims, a car is a must. Reims itself has a multitude of large Champagne houses, so you could conceivably do without, but you would miss out on all the smaller, individual houses that only sell at the cellar door and produce Champagne in tiny quantities.

Calais to Reims can be done in under three hours and it's a very straightforward drive. Taking the car also means you can take advantage of the lower prices and stock up for home.

It's worth it getting off the beaten track every now and then and discover some of the smaller villages and towns. Champagne producers are absolutely everywhere and many of them will welcome you with open arms. It helps if you have some understanding of the French language, but don't worry if you don't, things will just take a little more time. Be prepared though that outside the main areas very little English is spoken.

As some houses require you to make appointments it is a good idea to do this beforehand. Make a list of 'must-sees' and arrange one or two per day. That still leaves you time for the unexpected.

A very helpful guide for visiting the region is Philippe Boucheron's Destination Champagne. Very useful insights, maps and lots of names, addresses and telephone numbers and it was published in 2005, so bang up to date.

Oddbins Tasting Club - Billy & Bolly