Have you visited the caves in Reims? Which Champagne house is on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below.
Today, the is the embodiment of that risk. It is crisp, fresh, and dominated by the minerality of that famous chalk soil.
The temperature is a constant 10°C (50°F). The walls are soft enough to scratch with a fingernail, and the air smells of wet stone and aging yeast. It is here, in this dark, quiet womb, that millions of bottles of Pommery rest on their lees, waiting to become the driest, most elegant style of Champagne ever invented (Madame Pommery invented Brut in 1874—you’re welcome). Here is where Pommery differs from every other Champagne house. They didn't just fill the caves with barrels; they filled them with modern art. laboratoire pommery
Every year, Pommery invites contemporary artists to install pieces in the caves. Imagine walking through a 2,000-year-old Roman chalk mine and turning a corner to find a giant silver octopus, a floating LED cloud, or a bed made of baguettes.
But when you descend 30 meters below the chalky soil of Reims into the Crayères of , you realize the true magic of this wine isn't noise—it is silence. Have you visited the caves in Reims
The result is a network of ancient chalk quarries—known as the Crayères —stretching for 18 kilometers (11 miles) directly beneath the city. Walking through these tunnels feels less like a cellar and more like a silent, whitewashed cathedral.
When you think of Champagne, you think of celebration. The pop of a cork, the fizz of golden liquid, and the clink of glasses. Today, the is the embodiment of that risk
But you will never truly taste the chalk until you walk through those silent, white corridors. You will never understand the lightness of the bubbles until you see the darkness they are born in.