The weather turned beautiful just in time for our day long outing in Champagne. We started with a private tour at the prestigious world-renowned Champagne House of Moët et Chandon, dating from 1743. Moët et Chandon is one of the world’s largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. The company is co-owner of the largest luxury goods group in the world, Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton (LVMH), and holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Queen Elizabeth II of England.
Inside the cellars of Moët et Chandon
The network of cellars at Moët et Chandon span 15+ miles and are listed on the historical registry, as many of the cellars were excavated by the Romans. A couple of months ago, a stone wall collapsed inside cellars at Moët et Chandon, revealing a new gallery (cellar room) ~ filled with bottles of champagne dating from 1878. This is the oldest champagne that the house has on record. They spent several months determining whether the champagne was still drinkable, and yes, it was not only drinkable but still in it’s prime. This is very big news for the champagne house, and the day that we visited, they had not yet publicized the finding, so it was still secret information.
A bottle of champagne dating from 1878, just put on display the very morning of our tour
Following the tour, we enjoyed a tasting of the house’s prestige vintage champagne, Dom Pérignon, named after the Benedictine monk and cellar master, Dom Pierre Pérignon who, by perfecting double-fermentation, set the stage for the creation of sparkling wine. Produced from the finest grapes of a single year, Dom Pérignon is a vintage-only champagne (non-vintage champagne is made from wine fermented over the period of more than one year).
The Sommelier pour with one hand.
To complete our visit, we made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Dom Pierre Pérignon, housed in the abbey church of the nearby quaint village of Hautvillers.
Saint-Sindulphe abbey church in Hautvillers
The tomb of monk and cellar master, Dom Pierre Pérignon
We had an exceptional lunch at a renovated magnificent neo-classical mansion on the Jacques Selosse estate in Champagne. The charming village, Avize, lies at the heart of the “Côte des Blancs” area and has been renowned since the 18th century for its balanced Blanc de Blancs wines, classified Grand Cru.
The exquisite Hôtel Restaurant Les Avisés
Chef Stéphane prepares a special menu each day depending on what is available regionally. His lovely wife, Nathalie, ensures the comfort of the guests. The menu was spectacular and deserves its own post.
Our table in the chic dining room at Hôtel Restaurant Les Avisés
Following lunch, we made a stop at Tribaut-Schloesser, a small family estate in the tiny village of Romery, established in 1929. I came to know about Tribaut through my father-in-law who orders their non-vintage Brut Rosé by the case; it flows generously at every family gathering, not just celebratory events, such as weddings, but also at birthdays, holiday dinners, and average run-of-the-mill dinner parties with friends
A tasting of Brut Rosé at Tribaut-Schloesser
We concluded our outing to Champagne with a stop in Reims, capital of the Champagne region, to behold the impressive Reims cathedral, the gothic splendor where many French kings have been crowned.
A full, yet lovely, day.
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