Champagne Connection - 2015 Tour de Champagne

The 2015 Tour de Champagne kicked off last night when we all met at our Paris Hotel. We then made our way around the corner to Café Sud where we wined and dined the night away to the sounds of a fabulous jazz band. The summer solstice is also the festival of music across Europe and the place comes alive. The pianist was brilliant and he is also the restaurateur. A man of many talents. Tomorrow we are off to Reims for a day at Veuve Clicquot.

2015 Champagne Tour Itinerary  

Tuesday morning 23/6 and we started the day with a visit to Billecart-Salmon where Jerome took us on a tour of the vineyard and winery along with another group from Amsterdam. After the tour Jerome hosted a fabulous tasting of the Billecart Blanc de Blancs NV, Rose NV and then the Nicholas 1999 and 2002. We were in our element and the morning disappeared in no time. The till could be heard ringing as we departed through the shop on the way back to the bus.

Tuesday afternoon 23/6 We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Nicole Goutorbe and across the afternoon we tasted the Goutorbe Brut Tradition and the newly released 2006 which is fabulous and the equally fabulous and recently released Special Club 2005.

After lunch Nicole, very kindly, took us on a walking tour of Ay and we were lucky enough to be near the canal when a barge passed through one of the locks.We finished the afternoon with a tour of the historic Goutorbe cellars. Many thanks Nicole for a great afternoon.

Wednesday morning 24/6 and we took the short stroll from our hotel to Champagne Deutz where we greeted by Sonia who welcomed us to the house. She took us on a tour of the stunning Deutz mansion and gardens before we went on a tour of the cellars. The tour of the cellars was followed by a delightful tasting of the Deutz NV, Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2008 and Deutz 2008.

The 2008 vintage is a truly excellent vintage and these wines are just starting to hit the market and I have to say they are truly magnificent, stunning fruit, acidity and minerality and both these Deutz wines had those components in spades. 

After the tasting we sat down to lunch in the mansion dining room where enjoyed a beautiful meal accompanied by the top of the range Amour de Deutz 2005, Cuvee William Deutz 2002 and Rose 2009. Needless to say we felt as though we had died and gone to heaven.

For the afternoon the tour members have gone to the Lalique exhibition across the road from our hotel.

25/6 Today the Champagne Connection tour left our hotel, Hotel Castel Jeanson and took the beautiful drive along the Marne Valley to Festigny to visit the wonderful Loriot family at Champagne Joseph Loriot-Pagel. To begin with we were given a tour of the vineyard by Jean-Philippe which was followed by a tour of the winery. 




Over a beautiful lunch we enjoyed the 2009 Special club, the 2008 Cuvee de Reserve, the 2004 No 6 and the Rose NV. Four excellent champagnes and once again the newly released 2008 showed just how wonderful this year is. We had to drag ourselves away from the table at 4.00pm as we had kept our driver waiting for an hour and so it was time to meander back to our hotel with a few ZZZ's rising from the back of the bus. 




Thanks for another wonderful visit JP and Joseph.

 Lunch at Tattinger  ............ to be updated

Friday 26/6 we packed up our bags and left Ay for Reims. Along the way we called in to Verzenay to visit the Godme's. Hugue Godme took us on a tour of his vineyard just down the hill from their beautiful village. The Godme's are passionate biodynamic grape growers and Hugue took the time to explain the principles and practices of biodynamic viticulture whilst in the vineyard. 

Then it was back to the winery for a tasting of their beautiful champagnes where we tried the Brut Reserve NV, Blanc de Blancs NV, the vintage 2006 and Les Allouettes 2006. A superb visit thanks to Hugue and Dominique Godme and Sophie Couvreur.

We then took the drive into Reims and when we arrived we found Fireman Sam doing a quick fire drill in front of our hotel. Fireman Sam said hello to Elijah and Caitlyn.

 Friday 26/6 PM. After lunch we paid a visit to the old cellars of Charles Heidsieck where we were welcomed by Catherine Currie. Catherine took us on a tour of their magnificent Crayeres (cellars dug from chalk by the Romans) and then it was back to their tasting room located in a beautifully restored Art Deco building. 



The tasting was a delight as we tasted a very large part of the Charles Heidsieck range. Starting with the Rose Reserve followed by the Brut Reserve then the newly released 2005. This was followed by the sensational Blanc de Millenaires 1995 and finally we tasted the Rose 2005. Many thanks to Catherine and Charles Heidsieck for a wonderful afternoon.

Monday 29/6. Today is the last day of the Champagne Connection Tour de Champagne and the tour was concluded with a visit to Ruinart, the oldest producer of Champagne dating back to the 1790's. We were met by Katarina who took us on a tour of their beautiful cellars and told us about the history of the Ruinart house.

We were then very pleased to receive a tasting of the Ruinart wines under the direction of the Chef de Cave, Frederick Panaoitis. Frederick took us through the range of Blanc de Blancs NV, Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2004, Rose NV and Dom Ruinart Rose 2002.

There was a lot of discussion about which wine people enjoyed most, which was a good indication that they were all brilliant and quite difficult to separate. Many thanks to Katarina and to Fred for giving us so much of his valuable time.