Besides Reims being a very charming city, it’s also famous for it’s liquid gold: Champagne. Reims is located on the northern border of the Champagne-area in France, and a lot of really old and famous champagneries have their cellars close to the city center. Reims was the first stop on our big hitchhiking trip (that’s a story for another time!).
There are a lot of Champagneries to chose from and they all have their pro’s and cons. Since it is hard, if not impossible, to visit all of them, here’s a list of three very different yet all very interesting Champagne houses.
Lanson: The personal approach.
We start off with our favourite and first one we visited: Lanson. Neither of us had ever heard of the house before, and usually we tend to like smaller family ownes businesses. Apparently Lanson is not that unknown or small but forgive our ignorance. We had a lot to learn about Champagne!
The majestic front of the Lanson Champagne cellars
Arriving there we were warmly greeted by Marie-Julie, who asked us to wait in their reception room because there were more people coming on the guided tour. The other people didn’t show so we had a private tour, yay!
The “waiting area” was richly decorated and gave us something to look at while we waited.
The tour started with a little bit of history of the Lanson family and basic knowledge about Champagne. We then got guided to the small private vineyard where the best of the best single vineyard Blanc de Blancs is made from. Underneath this vineyard are the cellars. The Lanson cellars are the only ones which are located above ground level, little bit of a unicum for cellars right?
The private vineyard in the heart of the city. Our days of working on vineyards in Australia popped right back into our memories!
After viewing the cellars and learning about the Champagne-making process you get to the best part: tasting the Champagne! During the tasting Marie-Julie went over all the tasting notes and differences in Champagne which was really nice and educational. She also stayed to chat some more about Champagnes and her personal preferences. Apparently Lanson is the official supplier of Wimbledon since a couple dozen of years and are one of the national exporters of Great Britain. Not as small and unknown as we thought!
Can you imagine there are over 70 000 bottles of Champagne right in this photo?!
All by all this one would definitely be the highest on the list in overall experience.
The final, and best bit, of the tour: the tasting!
Practical: – Tour will take about 1,5 hour, included tasting. – Tour and tasting of one glass Champagne: €20 – Tour and tasting of two glasses: €25
– Tour and tasting of two glasses: €30
Taittinger: The oldest cellars
Taittinger, one of the most famous champagne houses, was also high on our list. Upon entering the building, the welcome wasn’t as warm as at Lanson, but more formal and distant.
The Champagne house of Taittinger is more subtle and less flashy than the other ones.
You start of with a promotional video about Taittinger. It tells you about the history of the house and also of Champagne in general. That’s what we liked about it. The owners did not only push their own brand but also promoted Champagne in general to be protected and known in the world.
These are all the sizes Champagne bottles come in. The biggest ones, the Balthazar (12 litres) and the Nabuchadnezzar (15 litres) are mostly used by rich eastern Europeans to fill up their swimming pool!
Afterwards you walk down a very small winding staircase that seems to go on forever to go down to the basement. They still use the original cellars of an 10th century abbey, and they were the most beautiful of them all. The abbey itself got bombed during the first war but the cellars are still all intact! It is insane how old they are! Our guide, a young student from Paris, was really informative and explained the whole process very clearly. Since it was an English tour but there were also French people, who’s English wasn’t that good, he took the time to translate in between.
The old staircase of the medieval abbey. Just the idea of being in a cellar that old is amazing!
The amazing thing about walking there, is that you find “graffiti”on the walls. The cellars of all Champagne houses were used during World War one and two as bomb shelters so you find things written on the walls. In certain area’s the “graffiti”is even older! The end of the tour goes in an 8th century stone mine were you can still see the hole were they transported the stone up through.
This “graffiti” can be traced back to the 10th century! Apparently self portraits were the thing back then!
The tasting itself was a bit disappointing. They pour you a glass but that’s it and you then just kind of stand there. No explanation, no tasting notes, not really any conversation except for short answers on your questions.
Practical: – The tour takes about 30 to 45 minutes, not including the tasting afterwards – Tour and tasting of one glass champagne: €19
– Tour and tasting of two glasses: €30
Pommery-Vrancken: The most modern!
As one of the biggest ones (Pommery bought Vrancken because they were almost financially ruined) it is a mass produced experience. The tour groups are pretty big and the places usually do fill up so book in time!
Vrancken used to be independent but not anymore. In the back you can see Villa Demoiselle.
As for the tour, you get a general explanation about the whole process. It is not very personal since you’re in a big group. The tour guide did leave room for questions so if you are interested you could always ask for more information.
Doesn’t this castle look like it is taken straight out of a fairytale?!
The most outstanding thing was the art everywhere. The cellar has art work in every corner which gives the place a modern atmosphere. If you are looking for a typical old looking cellar, skip this one. Some like it, some don’t. Also the building itself seems to come straight out of a fairy tale. It is definitely the most impressive architecture we saw!
The bright colours really liven up the place and distinguish the property from the other Champagne houses!
On the other side of the road you have the Vrancken mansion, called Villa Demoiselle. Vrancken still makes Champagne but in small numbers. His house is now turned into a museum. You can buy combined tickets for a tour, tasting and the entrance to the house!
Practical: – The tour takes about one hour, included tasting. – One glass tasting option and tour: €20 – two glasses: €30
– Guided tour of Villa Demoiselle (only in French) including glass of Champagne: €20
BONUS: G.H. Martel&co: The budget option
The cellars of Martel are located in one of the small villages around Reims, you can’t do a cellar tour at the moment, but keep an eye on their website, this might change! A little bit disappointing but after three tours, we already knew the gist of it.
The nameplate on the front has had it’s best time a long while ago.
They do, however, have tastings were you can choose a selection of Champagnes you would like to try. It is also the cheapest tasting you can find in Reims! The young girl who explained the tasting accompanied us to the tasting room. The decor is very very old fashioned but it had his charm.
The courtyard is small but oh so charming and cute!
Every Champagne got presented and explained. It was a short explanation each time but she didn’t mind answering questions. She did leave the room after each explanation, which was a bit awkward since we sat there alone in a very quiet room for 10 minutes every time. Their Champagnes are nice but nothing special but for the prices we paid it was definitely worth it!
Very old fashioned but in a way it fits with Champagne!
If you’re on a budget and just want to taste some champagne, this is a good place to go. Just ask loads of questions!
Practical: Since the guided tour wasn’t possible we are not sure how long this will take. – The tasting of three glasses: €13 (house champagne, meaning the standard one)
– The luxury tasting of three glasses: €20
As you see, all Champagne houses are different, which means there’s something for everyone!
Let us know which champagne experience was your favourite in the comments!
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