PIG People take on Champagne
Champagne is one of those regions that sits on every wine lover's bucket list, so when the chance came up to send our PIG People to get properly under the skin of it (and pop the cork on a few bottles!), there wasn't much persuading needed!
Five of our PIG People headed out at the start of July for a short, but very packed trip to visit two of the region's powerhouses; Ayala and Bollinger. The trip was put together by our brilliant friend, Alan Montague Dennis, and the team at Mentzendorff - one of our longest-standing suppliers and the team responsible for bringing some seriously good pours onto our wine and bar lists. It's a partnership, and a friendship, that goes back years, so there was no one better to show us round.
We caught up with the team when they got back on home soil, to hear all about this mega wine fuelled trip…
Day one
Getting there
We hopped on the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, before hopping on a second train into Champagne itself. The journey came with a little bit of hiccup, when we got stuck on the Eurostar for around 2 hours due to an issue with the tracks in the heat… so by the time we rolled into the region, we were more than ready for a glass!
Champagne Ayala
Our first stop was Ayala – a champagne house that has been rooted in the village of Aÿ since 1860. Ayala is known for its approach to vintage craft and precise blending that celebrates purity of fruit, fine structure, and its Chardonnay-led style, and since 2005 it's been under the same ownership as its neighbour and old friend, Bollinger.
We were shown around the cellars by Carl, a person who was an absolute fountain of knowledge when it came to all things wine, growing vines in Champagne, the rich history that comes with the champagne houses and so much more. A short tasting followed, where we got to have our first sips of champagne in Champagne!
We sipped and learned all about Ayala’s Brut Majeur, Brut Nature and Rosé Majeur, before we sat down to dinner with the Ayala team, working through glasses of more bottles; Blanc de Blancs A/19, Collection N°18, Perle 2015, a blind pour that turned out to be Blanc de Blancs 2012, and Collection N°14 to finish. The food was every bit as good as the wine, courtesy of Chef Jean-Jacques Lange.
We said our goodbyes to the wonderful team at Ayala and headed to Reims for the night to check into our hotel… of course, it would have been rude not to have a nightcap in the hotel bar before bed!
Day two
Champagne Bollinger
For our second (and final) day in Champagne, we headed over to Bollinger - the powerhouse that has been on our PIG wine menus since we first swung our doors open at THE PIG in the New Forest back in 2011.
Bollinger was founded in 1829 in the village of Aÿ, in the heart of the Champagne region, and is one of the last family-owned Champagne houses left. They’re still fermenting in oak barrels and still leaning hard into Pinot Noir, which makes up the majority of every blend. It's also the house behind Vieilles Vignes Françaises – Champagne's rarest cuvée, made from two small plots of pre-phylloxera vines that somehow escaped the disease that wiped out almost every other vineyard in the region over a century ago. Sustainability sits close to the heart of the House too, with Bollinger being the first Champagne house to be awarded the La Haute Valeur Environnementale certification, back in 2012.
When we were at Bollinger, we got a brilliant tour of the house and cellars, and stood right in among those historic Vieilles Vignes Françaises vines – a really, really cool experience for all of us who love nothing more than talking (and learning!).
After the tour, we sat down for another delicious meal from Chef Jean-Jacques, working through a serious line-up of Bollinger’s best pours; PN AYC 21, La Grande Année 2018, La Grande Année Rosé 2018, R.D. 2008, and Special Cuvée.
Time to head home
Once we had said goodbyes to fab team at Bollinger, Alan took us back into Reims to see the historic cathedral there, as it’s impossible to visit the city and not stop by. Sightseeing in 33+ degree heat is thirsty work, so naturally the next stop was a local bar, for one last tipple to round off a properly wine-fuelled couple of days!
Fancy trying some of what our PIG People discovered when in Champagne? Head to your favourite PIG and ask one our of bar tenders or sommeliers what's currently being poured behind the bar, or better yet, take a little peek at the wine menu here.
