Following up on my own thread after receiving a private message asking for some information. We enjoyed our quick visit to Champagne, although had some hits and misses. I think this area, even more than most wine regions, caters to different tastes by providing different experiences. Everybody we met working at hotels, restaurants, and wineries were unfailingly helpful, informed, and willing to talk about wine. The other travelers were a mixed bag. We met several lovely people in group tours and also met some of the most pretentious, brand obsessed people I have ever run across. I think the region is accustomed to that, and creates experiences that cater to both. Workers are also aware that their clientele may lean that direction and are on guard at first.
We spent one afternoon and an overnight in Epernay. We spent the following morning and lunch in Reims, the afternoon in Hautvillers, and the evening at Royal Champagne Hotel.
Epernay was underwhelming. I expected a quieter town to enjoy walking around. It had more car traffic than I expected, is quite spread out for the size, and I have a hard time describing the vibe. It is neither old and quaint nor gentrified and renewed. I have described it to friends as a town that has done just well enough to never need to be revitalized. The end result is a lot of shops and restaurants that seem to be 20-30 years old and showing their age. I would recommend filling your time here with scheduled visits instead of meandering. That said, we had several good experiences:
- Le 25bis hotel by Clerc Bryant. The rooms are stunning and the location is hard to beat if you are spending time on the ave. De Champagne. Breakfast was quite good and served early enough for us to be in Reims by 10. I would recommend it with zero hesitation.
- The patio/garden at Perrier Jouet. This was our first stop. We did not have reservations and it did not seem like they were expected. We were able to enjoy a sunny afternoon on the patio. There was not a small pour/tasting offering but the by the glass menu included Belle Epoque.
- Dinner at LâOben. My wife found this somewhere and the pictures of the food drew us in. The food was terrific. The scallops in a mushroom sauce/foam and the veal were terrific. The atmosphere left a lot to be desired. All the furnishings and fixtures are worn. They were not playing music, so it was both quiet and loud (I.e. we could distinctly hear the conversation from every table). I am split on recommending this, but if you are food focused, I would consider it.
- Clerc Bryant tour. Informed guide, nice production facility, and some interesting implementations of biodynamic principles. To be clear, I am wilding skeptical of biodynamic production beyond farming principles, but I still found it interesting. Maybe the aging underwater, aging in glass, aging in gold, and other woo-woo ideas will revolutionize champagne. If they do, I can say I saw it in person!
Reims was a more consistent, and better experience. We had a short time and I would recommend every one of our stops. For any visit this year, be warned that many areas are under construction in anticipation of Olympic crowds or will already be inundated with the crowd.
- We did the early tasting (10am) at Ruinart. The crayeres tour is incredible, the tasting is generous, and the ground/history are interesting. Starting early was great because we were able to find parking, despite construction.
- From there we walked the town for a while, including a visit to teh cathedral. I donât fawn over churches, but this one is very nice AND has no lines. Seriously, imagine just walking in to Notre Dame by yourself and spending whatever time you want. The town is a more pleasant walk than Epernay. There was a real lack of good coffee.
- Lunch at Lâepicerie At Bon Manger should be on ever berserkers bucket list. Rustic French food (canned meats, fish, cheese, salad), made with care. The BTG options are basically âBdB, BdN, Roseâ and they wonât tell you what they poured until after you have had it. It sounds gimmicky, but they have fun with it. The owners spent a lot of time chatting with us, helping us make some bottle selections to take home, and even went so far as to call a friend in Paris to try and make a dinner reservation for us. They are passionate and I would go back just to talk with them, even if I couldnât eat. You do need reservations. We saw several people turned away, despite empty tables.
From there, we drove to Hautvillers. This is the picturesque town you want to walk around, although I will leave it to others to chime in on the best champagne options. We enjoyed Marion-Bosser enough to bring a few bottles home. Champagne Fedyk is worth a stop for the patio view, although we did not care for the wine. We did see several tour busses parking and letting off 30-40 people as we left. I imagine this would make for a crowded stop if you happen to pick the same producer.
Finally, we stayed at Royal Champagne Hotel. This is easily the most I have ever spent on a hotel room. Value is in the eye of the beholder, and I think we got what we expected for the price. The views are stunning. We spent all of our time until dinner sitting on our balcony enjoying a bottle. Had it been cold, overcast, or raining it would have been an absolute waste. We gambled and won. As an FYI, the website menu and room service menu were a small subset of what was available so I am very glad I walked down to the bar to look for myself. We ate at Le Royal, the Michelin star option. It was as expected. We walked out happy we had eaten there, failed to take notes on what we had, and now, 8 months later, I canât remember a single dish. I donât mean that as a knock on them, but it was justâŚvery typical French fine dining. On departure, we chuckled as they had to move two Ferraris and a Bentley to get our rental Citroen for us. They were also very confused when we carried our own bags (a travel backpack per person, no luggage) from our room. This is how the other 0.01% live.