Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling WinesVizetelly, Henry
History
Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines
Vizetelly, Henry
Champagne (Wine); Sparkling wines; Wine and wine making
Champagne establishments, combined with the handsome residences of the
manufacturers, line both sides of the long, imposing Rue du Commerce at
Epernay. On the left hand is a succession of fine châteaux, commencing
with one belonging to M. Auban Moët, whose terraced gardens overlook the
valley of the Marne, and command views of the vine-clad heights of
Cumières, Hautvillers, Ay, and Mareuil, and the more distant slopes of
Ambonnay and Bouzy, while on the other side of the famous Epernay
thoroughfare we encounter beyond the establishments of Messrs. Moët and
Chandon and Perrier-Jouët the ornate monumental façade which the firm of
Piper and Co.--of whom Messrs. Kunkelmann and Co. are to-day the
successors--raised some years since above their extensive cellars.
A little in the rear of the Rue du Commerce is the well-ordered
establishment of Messrs. Roussillon and Co., the extension of whose
business of late has necessitated their removal to these capacious
premises. The wines of the firm enjoy a high reputation in England,
France, and Russia, and have secured favourable recognition at the
Paris, Philadelphia, and other Exhibitions. Their stock includes
considerable quantities of the older vintages, it being a rule of the
house never to ship crude young wines. It is on their dry varieties that
Messrs. Roussillon and Co. especially pride themselves, and some of the
fine wine of 1874 that was here shown to us was as remarkable for its
delicacy as for its fragrance.
In a side street at the farther end of the Rue du Commerce stands a
château of red brick, overlooking on the one side an extensive
pleasure-garden, and on the other a spacious courtyard, bounded by
celliers, stables, and bottle-sheds, all of modern construction and on a
most extensive scale. These form the establishment of Messrs. Pol Roger
and Co., settled for many years at Epernay, and known throughout the
Champagne for their large purchases at the epoch of the vintage. From
the knowledge they possess of the best crûs, and their relations with
the leading vineyard proprietors, they are enabled whenever the wine is
good to acquire large stocks of it. Having bottled a considerable
quantity of the fine wine of 1874, they resolved to profit by the
exceptional quality of this vintage to commence shipping champagne to
England, where their agents, Messrs. Reuss, Lauteren, and Co., have
successfully introduced the new brand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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