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Haley Maddox
Saint-Remi Saint-Nicaise Polychrome Taittinger Ruinart Le Parc Le Jardin Veuve Clicquot Saint-Remi Saint-Nicaise Polychrome Taittinger Ruinart Le Parc Le Jardin Veuve Clicquot

City guide

France

Paris, then three days in Champagne in July 2025: six houses, a grower champagne bar, a lot of cellars, and a two-star dinner. We stayed at Les Crayères in Reims.

12 places we went.

Start with these

A lunch, a cellar, and a bar
A roast leg of lamb carried to the table at Ruinart

Reims · weekend lunch

Ruinart

The oldest champagne house. Book the weekend lunch.

The aroma box at Veuve Clicquot

Reims · cellars and tasting

Veuve Clicquot

The cellars, then a tasting with the aroma box.

A bottle of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut

Épernay · at the bar

Perrier-Jouët

A tasting at the bar on the Avenue de Champagne.

Pocket guides

Two UNESCO World Heritage walks1
Avenue de Champagne Bernon

About 0.3 mi · 4 stops

  • Since 1743. Founded by Claude Moët. Its cellars run more than 28 km under the Avenue de Champagne.2

    Website

  • Since 1811. Founded by Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose Adélaïde Jouët. The anemones on the Belle Epoque bottle go back to four magnums Émile Gallé enamelled in 1902.3

    Website

  • A bar for growers. Flights of three champagnes from different small growers, organic and biodynamic, so you can taste a lot of the region in one stop. Get the cheese board.

  • Since 1834. At 46 Avenue de Champagne. Florent Roques-Boizel, of the founding family, runs it today.4

    Website

Take it with you

Directions

From the trip

July 2025, place by place
A berry crumble from Pépite in ParisPépite2 photosThe berry crumble
A roast leg of lamb carried to the table at RuinartRuinart5 photosThe leg of lamb
Roast quail at Le JardinLe Jardin3 photosThe quail
Haley with a glass of champagne at Moët & ChandonMoët & ChandonA glass at Moët
A bottle of Perrier-Jouët Grand BrutPerrier-Jouët2 photosGrand Brut
A bottle of Famille Dumont 369 M champagne at #Brut#Brut5 photosFamille Dumont 369 M
The tasting room at BoizelBoizelThe tasting room
The Été 2025 menu at Le ParcLe ParcThe summer menu
The aroma box at Veuve ClicquotVeuve Clicquot7 photosThe aroma box
A bottle of Taittinger at PolychromePolychrome3 photosTaittinger at lunch
Haley and Michael on the terrace at Les CrayèresLes Crayères2 photosOn the terrace

How we taste

Look, smell, taste, then decide
The aroma box at Veuve Clicquot: twelve numbered vials
The aroma box at Veuve Clicquot
  1. LookHold the glass against something white. Pale straw is usually younger and fresher; deeper gold is older or richer. Fine, steady bubbles usually mean longer aging.
  2. Smell twiceSniff once before you swirl for the lightest notes, then swirl and smell again to lift the heavier ones. Short sniffs work better than one long one.
  3. Taste in three partsFirst, dry or sweet, and how sharp the acidity is. Then the body and the flavors. Last, how long it lingers.
  4. DecideDid you like it, and what did it remind you of? That’s the part worth writing down.

What to smell for

  • Fruit and flowersFrom the grapesLemon, green apple, pear, white flowers
  • Bread and pastryFrom aging on the yeastBrioche, toast, biscuit, bread dough
  • Aged notesFrom years in the bottleHoney, toasted nuts, dried fruit, mushroom

Use a smell kit. Smell a few vials that fit the wine, then the glass, and see which come through. Or have someone hand you vials blind and guess. No kit? A lemon, an apple, and a piece of toast cover a lot of champagne.

What are you craving?

Every place, with what it has
  • Le JardinSaint-Nicaise · The brasserie at Les CrayèresOrder The quail, then the tiramisu.
  • Le PantrucheParis · BistroBib GourmandOrder The Grand Marnier soufflé, the dessert the Michelin Guide singles out.
  • Le ParcSaint-Nicaise · Two-star dining at Les Crayères★★ MichelinKnow The hotel’s two-Michelin-star dining room. We had the summer menu at dinner.
  • PolychromeSaint-Nicaise · Taittinger’s restaurant and barKnow A different guest chef runs the kitchen each year. Lunch is seasonal, with Taittinger pairings.
  • PépiteParis · Bakery and pastry shopOrder The berry crumble, then look over the pastry case.
  • #BrutAvenue de Champagne · Grower champagnes by the glass and in flightsOrder A flight of three grower champagnes, with the cheese board.
  • BoizelAvenue de Champagne · Tasting room
  • Moët & ChandonAvenue de Champagne · Grand Vintage cellar tourDrink Moët Impérial, the flagship brut, created in 1869.
  • Perrier-JouëtAvenue de Champagne · Tasting at the barDrink Belle Epoque, the prestige cuvée in the bottle painted with white anemones.
  • RuinartSaint-Nicaise · Weekend lunch and visitDrink Blanc de Blancs, the signature: all Chardonnay, in a rounded clear bottle.
  • TaittingerSaint-Nicaise · Tour and tastingDrink Comtes de Champagne, the prestige blanc de blancs, aged in the old abbey cellars.
  • Veuve ClicquotSaint-Nicaise · Cellars and tastingDrink Yellow Label Brut, the signature non-vintage, known by its orange-yellow label.
Sources
  1. Wikipedia, Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars
  2. LVMH, Moët & Chandon
  3. Wikipedia, Perrier-Jouët
  4. Union des Maisons de Champagne, Boizel
  5. LVMH, Veuve Clicquot
  6. Taittinger, The heritage
  7. Mission Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne, The château that became a Michelin-starred restaurant
  8. Mission Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne, The oldest champagne house