Champagne

The Great Champagne Houses and Their Historic Cellars Part of Champagne's enduring appeal lies not only in the wines themselves but also in the remarkable history and underground cellars that have shaped the region for centuries. Many of the world's most famous Champagne houses age their wines in vast chalk cellars known as crayères. These underground networks provide ideal conditions for maturation, maintaining a constant temperature and humidity throughout the year. Among the most impressive are the cellars of Taittinger in Reims. Extending deep beneath the city, these ancient chalk quarries date back to Roman times and now house millions of bottles maturing slowly in perfect conditions. Other legendary Champagne houses also possess extraordinary underground estates. Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery and Charles Heidsieck maintain extensive networks of chalk cellars where their wines slowly develop complexity over many years. Prestige producers such as Krug, Dom Pérignon, Bollinger, Louis Roederer and Pol Roger are renowned for their meticulous ageing programmes. Many of their finest cuvées spend years, and sometimes decades, maturing before release.