Day trip to Billecart-Salmon

Champagne was recently awarded World Heritage status by the United Nations- as seems befitting of this most fabulous  and refined of tipples. Which brought back wonderful memories of a day trip we took to Champagne in October last year to take a tour of the marvellous Billecart-Salmon.

So off we went early one morning to Gare de l'Est to take the train.

Which was delayed by an hour for a reason I still don't 

understand. There were announcements which were mildly

perplexing, and many people got off no doubt to find a quicker

transfer. We sat and waited.

The joys of travel.

After we got going though we were soon whisked away
to the lovely countryside of the Champagne region. 

Epernay - where everything celebrates Champagne

 Of course we had local Epernay
Champagne with lunch

Thankfully we didn't use the
advice of my phone

A quick taxi ride and there we are

Naturally the gardens are beautifully
manicured

Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818 by Nicholas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon on the current site. It is still family run, by the 6th generation to make their famous product. We were shown around by the stylish and knowledgeable Jerome.

I was surprised to find that the vineyard and production facilities are really right in the town of Maureuil-sur-Aÿ, behind the original house. The town was occupied during the war, but thankfully not bombed- I guess the Nazis liked champagne too and wanted to preserve it.

The famous Clos St Hilaire vineyard

Bacchus watching our progress

Billecart-Salmon have 3.5 km of cellars under the roads and buildings!

The cellars are somewhat spooky, but fascinating

Thousands of these bottles explode per year!

Jerome showing us the lees.

Riddling racks

Riddling is done to collect the sediment in the neck of the bottle, this is then frozen and removed leaving a beautiful, clear champagne. Riddling is now largely performed by machine. Understandble as machine riddling takes a mere 4 days, whilst riddling by hand takes 4-6 weeks. Hand riddling is still done for large bottles or special vintages. Jerome told us about the production of champagne in great detail- it's a fascinating process to make those delightful bubbles- a superb blend of chemistry and art. 

Billecart-Salmon age their wines in barrels that have been used to make burgundy blanc for at least 5 years. 

How better to end our tour than with a tasting? I don't mind if I do. 

Fabulous. 

The Brut Rose is Billecart-Salmon's most famous and popular variety. Jerome told us it was always fresh, blended with pinot noir and is lovely with any pink food- salmon, tuna, red fruits, desserts like strawberry soup (strawberry soup is a thing in France- it's very delicious). The rose is in an older style of bottle, a foundation shape. It was amazing to learn that all their bottles are made in the village- less than 5 km away. 

I'd love to spend more time in Champagne. Until I can get back though I'll just have to be content to do my best and drink some as often as I can. 

Paris in July

Saturday Snapshot is a wonderful weekly meme
 now hosted by WestMetroMommy