Advice on champagne

planning a trip to champagne in september - any recommendations of must visit houses, or recommended tours etc? haven't started the research yet but am sure there's plenty of knowledge here to share to start me off!
 
You have to book V.Cliq in advance, just email them. I visited taittinger, that was pretty good. Unfortunately ruinart was closed....

Wish I stayed in Reims for longer. How long you staying in the area for? There are heaps of champagne houses. The thing I found in Reims is not many people speak english
 
No doubt many of you have seen Dan's promo for next 3 days - 2004 Moet at $69.90.

FC have NV Moet advertised at $44.90/6 in Herald Sun today - I just happened to need to call Dan's on another matter - at 9am this morn Dan's price for NV Moet on web site was $48.90/6 - the rep I spoke to really surprised it was this price given FC advertised price - I queried - his response we are very proactive this type of thing - if we see cheaper price we will drop our price to beat them. At 12:30 today price now listed on Dan's $44.85/6.

When I spoke to him at 9am he offered to beat FC price by 50c = $44.40/6. I tried to work out how we could still get the price beat and use WISH/SH but cannot be done - bummer.
 
Cruiser Elite said:
No doubt many of you have seen Dan's promo for next 3 days - 2004 Moet at $69.90.

FC have NV Moet advertised at $44.90/6 in Herald Sun today - I just happened to need to call Dan's on another matter - at 9am this morn Dan's price for NV Moet on web site was $48.90/6 - the rep I spoke to really surprised it was this price given FC advertised price - I queried - his response we are very proactive this type of thing - if we see cheaper price we will drop our price to beat them. At 12:30 today price now listed on Dan's $44.85/6.

When I spoke to him at 9am he offered to beat FC price by 50c = $44.40/6. I tried to work out how we could still get the price beat and use WISH/SH but cannot be done - bummer.
Click to expand...

Just buy in store and pay using Wish. That gives you 5% discount.
 
Cruiser Elite said:
Yes I could do that - but I have sufficient NV Moet in cellar now - i'll top up if I can buy it sub $40
Click to expand...

What is WISH?

Emailed you the other day Cruiser to mention the six pack wine offer from Dans for $99 which included the NV Moet. With each wine individually selling at $15-19 it means you would get the Moet for around $15. lol.
 
tdogshookem said:
planning a trip to champagne in september - any recommendations of must visit houses, or recommended tours etc? haven't started the research yet but am sure there's plenty of knowledge here to share to start me off!
Click to expand...

I posted this in another forum after we got back from Champagne - we visited in late October last year:


Hiya, so closing the loop on this one... thought I'd give a brief overview of our visit to Champagne which should hopefully be of use to someone in future...

We ended up booking with these guys as we couldn't quite work out what to do the finite amount of time we were there and simply wanted to hit up a few 'must sees' and things that we wouldn't be able to find ourselves without extensive research:
www.france-bubbles-tours.com/

Did a one day private tour, followed by a one day semi-private tour (no more than 8 pax) to keep the costs down a bit. Both tours were great. The tour guide for our private bespoke tour Amanda (highly recommend that you ask for her if anyone is giving this company a go) nailed the brief - we wanted a mix of big maisons as well as get to check out some lesser known boutique producers. There's nothing like a passionate, enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. On the first day we were picked up directly at Reims train station upon arrival and dropped off at our hotel, subsequently we were simply picked up and dropped off at our hotel even though we were technically meant to meet the semi-private part of the tour somewhere in the middle of Reims (there was only 1 other couple other than ourselves which allowed a bit of flexibility).

Champagne houses

* Big producers:
We visited Taittinger, Pommery and Mumm. The cave visits were a real eye opener and learning how champagne is made really gives a lot more context as to why only sparkling wine from that particular region is called champagne. It does make sense - you wouldn't try to claim that a Margaret River cab sav is a Bordeaux.

However as alluded to above I feel as though we were hearing everything on repeat after the initial novelty wore off. By the time we got to Mumm we were actually a little bored, as there's only so many times you want to hear about how champagne is made and the history of each house. Bring on the tasting already!

Tastings of the NV are a complimentary inclusion of the ticket price if you decide to do a cave visit. However you have to pay extra by the glass for anything else - we decided to have a glass each of the Cuvee Louise 99 and Cuvee R Lalou since these aren't that common or are hideously expensive in Australia. This set us back about EUR15 a drink. YOLO.

* We got a lot more out of the smaller, lesser known producers as the visits seemed more intimate and personalised and we like to discover new fizz that are less common/harder to source (ie, can't get them at the local liquor store unlike say Clicquot) but tastes equally if not more amazing than the big houses:
- Devaux - beautiful grounds
- Bernard Tornay
- Roger Coulon: Also had a nice lunch there.
- Bertrand Devary: 4th generation husband & wife producers. Cuvee Sienna is divine, named after the niece of the producer. EUR22 over there, AUD110 in Oz... wish we'd coughed up the EUR200 shipping fee for a case of 12, would still be way cheaper shipping it back! The OH isn't as big a champagne drinker but he left a big fan after drinking the Sienna.
- I can't remember the name of the last small family producer we visited just outside Reims except for the fact that the family had 8 cats. This was perhaps the most interesting one of all so it's a shame we can't remember the flipping name. I took a photo of what I thought was the name of the house "Les Champagnes des Vignerons" but apparently this means the house is part of some association of independent producers. The 2000 Millesime at this place was mindblowing and only EUR16... tip for anyone who manages to locate this place. :p
- Several grower producers (that's how I discovered Louis Auger) including a few that specialise in biodynamic champagnes.

Other highlights
* Au36 on Rue Dom Perignon: Really, really cool bar in Hautvillers that stocks 50 different champagnes at cellar door pricing. What's awesome about this place is it does a champagne degustation of 3 different vintages of single grape variety champagnes: a chardonnay, a pinot noir and a pinot meunier whilst explaining their unique characteristics. We also had some rose, a demi sec and somewhat unusually a zero dosage (unusually because there's seemingly no market for ZD champagnes with very few producers even bothering with it and so we were pleased to find some ZDs). We had lunch here as part of the tasting - nice platters of regional gourmet specialities including the best bloc de foie gras I've ever had.
* Reims Cathedral - the other half's non-negotiable must do. He really enjoyed it.
* Abbey of Hautvillers with the tomb of Dom Perignon - pretty cool, you almost want to genuflect and silently thank the guy for the wonderful things he's done to advance the champagne industry.

Hotel
L'Assiette Champenoise wasn't too bad. Located just outside Reims in Tinqueuex, it's one of the few 5 star hotels around the place. We far preferred the look of this to the other one that was suggested to us as we wanted something that is super modern rather than any antique-filled old school charm. However they only had central heating/cooling in their rooms - we were there in late October which isn't quite summer but still fairly warm, but the a/c is only switched on in summer. We had a stiflingly warm room even with the heater off and had to open the window for some cool air. The location was also fairly removed from most things so if you don't want to eat at the 2 star Michelin restaurant on site or can't get a booking, it's an approx a EUR15 cab ride into Reims. Notwithstanding the above, the staff were lovely, there was free wifi which is always appreciated and breakfast was delicious if a little overpriced. And the bar serves Krug by the glass. But next time we'll stay in the center of Epernay as I agree that it is much prettier than Reims. Or even one of the lovely little towns in between.

Food
* Au36 in Hautvillers tas mentioned above for their yummy gourmet platters to go with the champagne degustation.
* L'Assiette Champenoise (part of our hotel) - really nice contemporary 2 Michelin star place. Focuses on the latest cooking trends and techniques. We had the matching champagnes to go with our tasting menu - in reality this means you get a bottle each of the La Grande Dame 2004 and Duval Leroy 2004. Totally stuffed and could barely stand by the end of it, especially as it came after an entire day of imbibing!
* Le Foch in Reims - stumbled into this quite by accident. I was looking for warm foie gras and after scouring almost all of Reims city centre this was the only place that did it (with mushroom charlotte). Really nice food and well-priced 5 course set menu. Only when we left did we notice that this little place had a Michelin star... So much for a "quick, easy and casual" dinner.
tongue.png


I think we managed to pack a lot into 2 days and as a champagne aficionado it was certainly a place to tick off the bucket list and return repeatedly to do all the things we didn't do.

We also did finally learn how to pronounce 'Reims' correctly, even in the Normandy dialect.
grin.png
Ironically the guides told us they have to pronounce it as "Reams" so that tourists could understand them. :p
 
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Good account of your trip Keith009 along with some good tips. I hitchhiked through this region (and Reims) when I was 18, maybe it is time to take a second look. Thanks.
 
So I was wandering the aisles of Dan's yesterday and noticed Taittinger NV gift pack with 2 x glasses included - packaging just spectacular - $59.99. Cruiserette instructed me to buy 12 of same for those last minute bday gifts you require throughout year. So I go online last night to confirm but they are not there - I called Dan's in Parkdale today and they are XMAS item and they only have 5 in store but they would ring around other stores to get me 12 - but then I can't use SH.

But whilst online I did notice this item:

Resize of Lanson 2.JPG

And stand alone Lanson black label:

Resize of Lanson 1.JPG

Now whilst I am not a great fan of Lanson this does look a great deal - with WISH/SH sub #33.00. Will run this past Cruiserette tonight and see just which decision I should make.
 
Cruiser Elite said:
So I was wandering the aisles of Dan's yesterday and noticed Taittinger NV gift pack with 2 x glasses included - packaging just spectacular - $59.99. Cruiserette instructed me to buy 12 of same for those last minute bday gifts you require throughout year. So I go online last night to confirm but they are not there - I called Dan's in Parkdale today and they are XMAS item and they only have 5 in store but they would ring around other stores to get me 12 - but then I can't use SH.

But whilst online I did notice this item:

View attachment 25732

And stand alone Lanson black label:

View attachment 25733

Now whilst I am not a great fan of Lanson this does look a great deal - with WISH/SH sub #33.00. Will run this past Cruiserette tonight and see just which decision I should make.
Click to expand...

Thanks, just ordered 2. Only one store in the area had any in stock though.
 
TomVexille said:
Thanks, just ordered 2. Only one store in the area had any in stock though.
Click to expand...

And just received a call from Dan's saying that they didn't have any in stock, and that the last movement of the item in their system was 17/12/2013. Ringing around to the other stores now... Hopefully I don't have to go in just to get a refund.
 
Dan's have some good prices right now.
Moet $42.95 single bottle or six
Veuve $54.45 single or six
Lanson has dropped to $39.15 single bottle or six
Billecart-Salmon delivery offer $56.90 in any six
 
blackcat20 said:
Dan's have some good prices right now.
Moet $42.95 single bottle or six
Veuve $54.45 single or six
Lanson has dropped to $39.15 single bottle or six
Billecart-Salmon delivery offer $56.90 in any six
Click to expand...

That's the price I see for Lanson on the Dan's banner ad here on AFF, but when I actually go to the website, it comes up as $44.99
 
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