Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

A interesting and fun afternoon learning about Clicquot House. Just go!

The mother ship as besides local Chandon, this is the bubbly we drink the most of.
Highlights:
— Cave tour: impressive and informative
— Vueve history: discovered vueve meant window and the Ponsardin at the end was her maiden name
— Cave history: used for a sanctuary village during the world wars and materials from cave were used to build the town
— Staircase: year on each step
— Classy color scheme inclusion: their signature yellowish orange was everywhere – from flowers to staff apparel.
Lowlights:
— Due to a special event weekend there was no tasting and the store was closed. :-(
So cool just to be at the headquarters of one of my faves. I’d like to come back to taste on a regular day.

Our half a day’s excursion to Reims from Paris was mainly devoted to a tour of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin’s (VCP) caves and a tasting of their champagne. Champagne tasting was on our short list of things to do in Paris, as the Champagne-​Ardenne region is only a 45-​minute ride on the TGV (44 € round trip/​pp). My sister booked our tour a few months ahead of time via email, and I suggest that you do the same to ensure your place in the tour.
We walked to VCP, but took the bus back to town. Veuve Clicquot is only a 45 minute walk from Reims’ train station, but if you’d rather not walk, you can take Bus 6 from the town center (across from McDonald’s) for € 1 and some change each way. The bus driver gives change, so no need to worry about having the exact change.
The tour lasts about an hour, and it costs 20 € on its own, 25 € with a full glass of their non-​vintage champagne. The tour is worth doing even if you’re not a champagne lover. It starts at the visitor center, where the tour guide describes VCP’s history. She then leads you outside to the entrance to the caves. VCP has 24 kilometers of caves and it’s a sight to see. You have to descend about 25 meters from street level in order to get down to the caves via stairs. Walk down the stairs carefully and follow her closely to avoid getting lost in their maze of crayères! There she explains the various stages of champagne making and the differences between vintage and non-​vintage bottles of champagne.
Oh and do look out for the display of one of the bottles of VCP champagne that were recently discovered in 2010 by divers exploring a shipwreck in Finnish waters. These 170 year old bottles had survived the shipwreck and aged well 160 ft below the ocean’s surface. Amazing!
At the end of the tour, she took us to the botique/​tasting room where beautiful champagne glasses awaited. She demonstrated how to open the bottle with a hiss rather than a pop, and poured. The champagne tasted great as expected. I fell in love, however, with their glasses. Luckily, they were also for sale and did not have the winery’s name imprinted on the glass itself. I just love their shape and how elegant they look. They were 12 € each and came in a set of 6. I bought one set and thankfully, they survived many train rides and our flight back to the U.S. Now, every time I drink champagne from that glass, I will make a toast to Veuve Clicquot, the widow who created this great champagne house that has withstood the test of time and flourished!

Twenty five Euros for a mediocre tour and one tasting is not my idea of good, or even above average. This was the least complete of my many tours in Reims and Epernay. This house is just resting on its laurels. I am not a big fan any longer, though I appreciate the story of Madame Clicquot. The poor guide had such an accent (Chinese, I think), and could not answer any questions about the production. Go elsewhere and really get your money’s worth, as well as learn something about champagne.

I love me some Veuve. Veuve Clicquot is the ultimate ladies’ champagne, of course, because it was created by a woman.
The winery is huge, it actually reminds me of a little town. There is not really much around it either although it is not far from the famous cathedral.
The tour is very nice and the tour guides are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I’d imagine it takes quite a bit of time to train someone to give these types of tours since you have to know the whole back-​story of the company and all the details regarding how wine is made.
We tried four different champagnes, which were all delicious and while I was tempted to purchase a bottle, I knew I would be going to Moet & Chandon next and planned to purchase a bottle there.
SN: When I arrived back to Paris and headed to the Louis Vuitton store, I was supplied with endless glasses of Veuve, so I got to indulge quite a bit afterall.

We did the vintage tasting and a 2 hour tour for 90 euro each.
Exceptional.
Very informative tour led by an enthusiastic guide. The caves, their history, and seeing the actual facilities was great. The aroma garden is a very nice touch.
Tasting was led by a staff sommelier Vincent. We tasted the 1989 Rose, 2004 Rose, 1990 Blanc, and 2005 Blanc accompanied by cheeses and breads.
He leads a great tasting and is obviously very passionate about the house’s wines.
Vincent has heavy hands, especially when pouring a bottle that retails for $ 250+ per bottle (1989 rose). Each pour was 4 oz or more at least.
The wine and reputation of the house speak for themselves when it comes to quality and status, and they maintain the same level with the vintage tasting and tour.
Definitely pay up and do the vintage tasting, worth every dime.

Nice cave tour (bring a jacket) and good personal service.

Veuve seems to make levels of champagne for all price points. You can get smoething moderately priced or something really expensive. So you can go casual or high end. Recently got a tate of the 1990 Grande Dame. Great acidity, effervescence and a smooth palate and finish. To get ghetto, that shit is slammin’! This is one of those examples where I now understand why the wine is so revered.