Reims is a historical and notable city located about 130 kilometers northeast of Paris in northeastern France. The center of the ancient province of Champagne, it looks south and west across a plain to the Montagne de Reims, a chain of hills on whose vineclad slopes grow the grapes from which champagne is made.
Before the Roman conquest of Gaul, the town was the capital of Remi, a Belgian tribe who called it Durocortorum. Later it was sacked by Atilla’s Huns. After Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized here in 469 by St. Remi, Bishop of Reims, its religious importance grew, until the archbishops of Reims outranked all other ecclesiastical peers. From the foundation of Capetian dynasty, it became the place of coronation of the French kings. Even Joan of Arc was in this city, marked by a hard silver board in one of its structures.
The city was heavily shelled during World War I but was restored afterward, partly through American contributions. The famous Reims Cathedral was repaired by John D. Rockefeller. Other buildings of historical interest include the former Abbey of St. Denis, now the Fine Arts museum; and the house of St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle, birthplace in 1651 of the founder of the Christian brothers.
Reims’ best-known product is champagne but it is also famous for cakes, biscuits, hams and woolen goods of all kinds.
When did Clicquot champagne first appear on the scene? Officially on Jan. 3, 1772, the day Pierre Clicquot placed an advertisement in the Gazette de France announcing that he was "founding a wine business under the Clicquot label." His family owned vineyards and this ambitious young man of 29 planned to expand the family business with the resolute intention of crossing frontiers. It did not take him long, with a first case arriving in Moscow in 1780, the prelude to a phenomenal success in the land of the Czars. From 1782, the wine was being shipped to Philadelphia and, in 1796-97 a big marketing campaign was started in the United States, based on the recommendations of Americans living in France. In 1798, Philippe Clicquot went into partnership with his 24-year-old son Francois who had just married Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin (a name that perhaps rings a bell).
The year 1805 nearly brought this story to a premature end. Francois died unexpectedly of a malignant fever. Nicole-Barbe and father-in-law decided against the odds not to close the business down. In fact, the number of bottles dispatched that year reached 110,000, nearly double the volume sent the previous year! With energy and determination, Madame Clicquot decided to take over on her own.
From its very first appearance, Clicquot champagne was described as "good, with lots of sparkle and very consistent." Consistent is exactly the right word for its quality is distinguished by such constancy. This is what champagne drinkers know how to appreciate.
The fervent consumers and supporters of the past, whether Gogol, Pushkin, Chekhov, Jules Verne, Claude Monet, Marcel Proust, Sacha Guitry, Theophile Gautier, George Meredith or just plain old John Smith, were not deceived. Neither are those who choose Veuve Clicquot today, because quality is as much appreciated as ever.
As you know, champagne is a skillful blend of different wines, sometimes from hundreds of different plots of land. Maintaining what is known as the "style Maison," the very special characteristic that distinguishes the big names in champagne, is no easy matter. The Veuve Clicquot style is recognizable in the structure of wine, and the balance of flavors in which the powerful dominance of Pinot Noir is tempered by the finesse of Chardonnay.
Today, the Veuve Clicquot estate is one of the largest in Champagne, with 268 hectares divided among 12 of the 17 Grands Crus and 14 of the 39 Premiers Crus. More or less, all the plots are to be found on the hillsides, which have the best soil and most sunshine. The estate provides 25 to 28 percent of the house’s needs, depending on the year. The remaining grapes are obtained from winegrowers known traditionally as deliverers who have worked for the house for many years.
Veuve Clicquot champagnes have made a conspicuous appearance in books or films by such famous authors as Agatha Christie, Karen Blixen, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini or Claude Chabrol, to name but a few.
The courts of Denmark, Sweden, Greece and Great Britain offer their allegiance. In 1956, magnums of Brut 1929 were sent to Monaco on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Rainier to Grace Kelly. In 1970, Veuve Clicquot made a special champagne for the Jubilee in 1977 of the Queen of Britain.
Madame Clicquot was 45 in 1822. Through her talent as an oenologist and a businesswoman, she became known as the Grande Dame of Champagne. Opposite the headquarters of her company, which she had just established in Rue du Temple, she decided to buy a property, doubtless for accommodating staff and for use of the cellars. Later in 1840, she gave her loyal assistant Edouard Werle the whole group of buildings, which surrounded a garden, as a token of thanks.
Werle decided to build his family home on the site, whose charm he enhanced by acquiring the adjacent Pavillon de Muire, a gem of Renaissance architecture.
The Hotel du Marc is a typical 19th century family mansion, with its spacious rooms and generous proportions. Guests danced here to celebrate the wedding of Mathilde, Edouard Werle’s daughter, and on many other occasions Madame Clicquot was never far away.
Upon arrival at Hotel du Marc, you enter a large hall. It is simple, pure and bright. The light colored marble floor and walls highlight the voluted banister and the majesty of the great chandelier. A double door opens and you are greeted by a burst of color, with red and golden yellow dominating.
Conversation starts around the fireplace and toasts are proposed to the portraits of Madame Clicquot and Edouard Werle.
You go through the door into the main drawing room. Suddenly, golden yellow dominates. What craftsmanship went into painting these graceful moldings? Deep sofas, armchairs with gentle curves fill the room. An exquisite 18th century console with a Beauvais tapestry hanging above it catches one’s eye, and set between two delicate orchid pots is an ornate wall clock.
My friends and I had the whole place to ourselves that day. It was so nice imagining we owned the mansion and that we lived during their time, enjoying all the luxury and comfort we were in.
Dinner was served in the dining room, overlooking the garden. As in most of the rooms throughout the house, the walls were lined with printed wall hangings, creating an impression of soft exuberance. The table was adorned with simple white linen tablemats; the row of sparkling glasses was inviting. Our names were printed on the menu: "Dinner in the honor of..." That evening, I felt really special.
The large dining hall, with its carved wooden wall paneling acquired by Edouard Werle himself, is used for more formal dinners. The arched door blends with the paneling. Colors are mellow: sea green decorative rugs and pale yellow Empire chairs.
With efficiency and style, the white-gloved maitre d’hotel served the first course. From our host, we learned that the chef was about 30 years old and was chosen by Veuve Clicquot for his creativity and daring blends of flavors. We had duck and prawns with asparagus tips plus a whole lot more, the names of which I don’t recall. All I remember is they were all delicious and fresh and the cuisine took on so many styles.
After coffee and tea, we retired to our rooms. They gave us a bottle each of Rose Reserve. This is a classic for those in the know: the combination of Rose Reserve and red fruits. The 1985 vintage is a "collector’s item," one of the most lovely rose champagnes of the latter part of the 20th century.
The room I stayed at was decorated in pastel colors and floral designs. The matching carpeting and curtains gave the impression of perpetual springtime. There were tons of current books and top magazines on the big, intricately carved mahogany writing desk. My large four-poster bed gave me the imagined bliss of royal tranquility. The mattress was so thick and soft at the same time, I felt like a princess.
If my room was memorable, what more my bathroom. It was also set in the same harmonious style and colors of the room. On my dresser table, I had the whole bath line and cosmetics of Christian Dior, "La Dolce Vita," (the sweet life – very fitting to what I felt life was like when I was there), a sister company of the Veuve Clicquot company, owned by LVMH, or the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy group. It was generously large, inviting one to spend a lot of time in it. The patterned carpeting, marble from the Alps, solidwood, restored antique bathroom furniture and fixtures, large baths with lion’s feet, delightful little cupboards and a thousand and one details added to the refinement.
With its wide, high windows, the Hotel du Marc is constantly bathed in light. Decorated with large red flowers, the other rooms like the "Montfleury" room reflects the morning light, inspiring energy and vitality. A little further down, the "Four Seasons" room is a eulogy to the sun, with a dominant brilliant yellow. It houses a moving heirloom: the very same writing desk Madame Clicquot used in evenings past, writing letters after inspecting the vineyards and cellars.
At Hotel du Marc, nature is close by and all the pleasures of the senses are aroused.
On my last day, a limousine waited for me outside the grand entrance. I had no choice but to leave the Hotel du Marc and return to the busy world that I forgot all about during my stay. I would take memories with me of this haven of peace. Hopefully, I would be back soon to enjoy the tranquility that Hotel du Marc allowed me to experience.