Reims Day 2

Today was always going to be a full day, but it was very full!

I started out with breakfast at the hotel. Not too bad a buffet, but the pickings seemed a bit slim for the non-bread consumers, until I discovered a small bain marie hidden in a corner which had bacon, eggs and grilled tomatoes to add to my yoghurt, fruit salad, and of course, cheese! There was a nice selection of herbal teas, and I tried out the Verbena, which was light and refreshing. 

After breakfast, I headed off to Ruinart, to do a tour and tasting. They charge 70E for the privilege, and take payment in advance, so it had a lot to live up to! The walk, 3km (well, more like 4km after I got “directionally challenged” a few times) from the hotel, was nice though, and took me out of the touristy centre. I was early, much to the consternation of the guard at the gate, who told me I couldn’t come in yet as nothing was open. Since they’re primarily a producer, not a marketer like Moet, they don’t have a lot of staff to look after early tourists! 

After sitting at a nearby bus stop for enough time to mollify the guard, I headed in, somewhat humbled by the surroundings. After I met Cassandre, our host, she led me into the “guest room” in one of the wings of the maison, a well-appointed room which made me feel quite shabby in the sneakers I’d donned for the walk! Soon enough six more people arrived – two Aussies, a New Zealander and her French boyfriend, and an American and her ex-pat French partner. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing around champers, which was nice after at yesterday’s tour I asked one of the others as a conversation starter “What’s your favourite brand of champers?” to which she answered “Brut”. 

The crayères were amazing, and Cassandre was an interesting and informative host.

By the time we got back to the tasting room the group felt like a bunch of mates, a feeling which only grew stronger as we tasted our glasses! I was at a slight disadvantage at this point, as all the pairs shared their two choices between the non vintage and vintage Blanc de Blanc and nv and v Roses. I stuck to the whites, but one of the other ladies kindly offered me a taste of her roses. 

This is seriously good bubbles. I thought the NV was good, but then I had the vintage. Woah. Creamy bubbles of goodness… nice. Happily, the boutique sells half-bottles of their three types, but unfortunately not the vintage varieties. I’ll have to try to source some when I get home. Hmm, maybe not. Just did a quick google, and it looks like it’s in the $200-$300 range for the vintages! Should’ve bought the six-bottle set after all. 😦

We were all a bit shocked to glance at our watches to find we’d been there for over three hours! I had to skedaddle to make the train to Epernay to visit Moet et Chandon. Cassandre called me a taxi, which cost an incredible 13E to take me back to the hotel to drop off my ill-gotten gains, before I sped off to the train station. 

Epernay is even more champagne-focused than Reims – which is saying something! Every second shop was related to bubbles, and there were a lot of places for tastings! 

I got to M&C with a bit of time to spare, so I explored the boutique while I was waiting. Lots of themed items, and of course lots of booze, but the prices were pretty high. The Dom Perignon was $40 more expensive than Dan Murphy’s on sale, but on the other hand they had the 2004 Rose for around $75, which is pretty good.

The tour felt a bit like ticking off the boxes – maybe it was because we had two families with about 6 kids between them on our tour, and they were bored pretty quickly (although they looked like they wanted to play hide and seek in the dark, scary underground galleries!) The tasting would have been great had my palate not been ruined by Ruinart earlier in the day (forgive the pun) and I couldn’t finish my two glasses (the rose 2004 and the white 2006). I’ve had the 2004 white before and I like it more than the newer vintage, and the rose didn’t grab me enough to want to lug a bottle around, so I left Epernay with no more than I arrived with!

Upon returning to Reims, I decided that dinner would be my next mission, especially because it was raining. I went into the first place that had reasonable prices and some of the menu translated into English! 

The cafe was quite popular, and the food good. I started with garlic snails, and I’ll have to apologise to the people on the train tomorrow, as there was a LOT of garlic! It was sizzling hot too, which along with my impatience meant I now have a burnt tongue!

Next up was a steak with sauteed vegies and chips. Gorgeous chips, cut in a way I haven’t seen before. Last up was a creme brulee, which had the obligatory crunchy top and silky smooth custard underneath. Yum! And all for E18.50. 🙂

Back at the hotel, I popped up to the bar to use the free drink voucher I’d been given on checkin, and had another glass of bubbles. Looking at the price list was amazing – the Ruinart bubbles was the same price per bottle or half bottle as the Moet was! It was double the price at both the cellars and for what I could find it for at home. Unfortunately, the drink voucher didn’t cover a half-bottle, and I didn’t really need to drink any more tonight anyway… Need to rest up for tomorrow!