Veuve Clicquot : Troisième Partie
Some of you may struggle to imagine the size of Veuve Clicquot’s vineyards… This calls for a helicopter tour!
We had two helicopters at our disposal for a flight over the champagne region, giving us the chance to survey the mountains and vineyards of Reims, which stretched as far as the eye could see, for more than half an hour.
It was as we passed over the château de Boursault, formerly belonging to Madame Clicquot, that we truly realised the success of this woman. At that time, women were not allowed to work unless they were widowed. This caused her to become one of the wealthiest women, not only in France, but also in Europe.
Back on the ground after this privileged moment and we were directed to the les Crayères hotel where we were going to “relax”. No need to point out that this hotel has been described as the “Best hotel in Europe” by magazines such as Travel & Leisure and even Conde Nast Traveler.
That evening we were able to meet Dominique Demarville, the head of the Veuve Clicquot cellars who, in conjunction with the Michelin-starred hotel chef Didier Elena (a former student of Alain Ducasse), had concocted a very special menu for us.
Over several courses we had to decide which champagne went best with the meal. It has to be said that the rosé champagne, rich or brut, goes very well with dinner, if you want to prove that you have good taste!
“Champagne and chocolate don’t go well together, and the same goes for tomatoes.”
After this sparking evening and one last glass of chartreuse, we all retired to our respective suites.
The next morning a magnificent 1966 Bentley, specially prepared for Veuve Clicquot, was waiting to take us to discover the laboratory.
It was Cyril Brun, who we had met the day before, who guided us on yet another tasting tour, this time of white wines. Veuve Clicquot champagne consists of Pinot Meunier (in this case Saint Thierry 2007 Grand Cru), Pinot Noir (Verzy 2007 Grand Cru) and Chardonnay (Mesnil 2007 Grand Cru). In reality, it takes more than four months and ten men to find the proportions needed to obtain the V.C.P. taste.
The laboratory is where the vines, wines and finally champagne are inspected, before being bottled and stocked in the cellars.
Come back soon for the next instalment!
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Journée de ouf quand même !!!
Toujours aussi bluffant, bravo pour ces magnifiques photos et ce petit reportage vraiment très intéressant. Je ne regarderai plus jamais ces bouteilles oranges de la même façon…
Vous avez vendu du vrai rêve ! Bravo !
Merci chanceux blogueurs de partager avec nous cette invitation privilégiée dans les coulisses de Veuve Clicquot !
Bonsoir!!
J’ai une petite question.. Mais tout d’abbord mes éxcuse pour mon français, je suis Néerlandophone et je n’écrit pas bien..
Je dois faire une éxposer sur Veuve Clicquot et je dois pouvoir donner l’adresse, le numéro de téléphone et l’e-mail.. Le problème est que je ne trouve pas ça sur l’internet.. Vous pourriez m’aidez, svp?
Merci