The Lambregts family adventures: Champlis

This year's trip of the wine and dine society 'Het Derde Glas' by Piet and friends had one key theme: 'the handbrake'. As last year's trip had an enormous amount of driving it was decided to stay close to home, and a combined Champagne and Chablis trip was put together as 'Champlis'. The handbrake refers to the exceptional (and unusual) restraint that was demonstrated by all during the trip, with relatively modest purchases and a half-empty bus at the end.
After an early morning departure from Utrecht CS, and a good deed by assisting two young lady hitchhikers, we arrived in the westernmost part of the Champagne, in the village of Saacy-sur-Marne and winemaker Bombart. After a modest purchase (even a 'zero bouteilles' was noted for one of us!), we continued to Fallet Dart, a short drive away. They are located in a tight meander of the Marne, with vineyards everywhere. We were received by an English-speaking hostess, who presented excellent champagnes, but restraint was displayed again. Unfortunately it was a very grey day with low hanging clouds, making the drive through the beautiful Marne valley somewhat disappointing. When we arrived at the winery of Durdon Bouval, the owner sent us to his house, another 20 minutes away along tiny roads, and far outside the winegrowing region. Here his wife hosted the tasting of several bio-champagnes in their living room, with a bio-zero dosage representing the ultimate healthy option. The evening was spent in Reims, with a seafood dinner and a digestive walk through a deserted town. As the parking of the hotel wasn't open due to road works we had to park the bus in the open; despite some understandable concerns all bottles were still there in the morning.

In the morning we drove to Cote des Blancs, to the village of Cramant, starting a day of 'valuer sur', visiting only known quantities. First stop was Bonnaire where we were served by the house elf, a young lad on a two year apprenticeship, and using us to practice his English. At Moncuit it was the opposite, here the lady of the house, in her eighties, hosted us jointly with an American couple from New York. He was acting as the cheerleader for the house whilst the whole range of champagnes was tasted. A long drive south took us to Buxeuil, in the Cote des Bar, the southern Champagne region. The hostess of Noel Leblond-Lenoir didn't drink a drop of alcohol (!), but managed to sell us a decent quantity, including champagne of 100% Arbane grapes, a rarity. After a short drive to Chablis and a stop at Pommier the evening ended in true 'valuer sur' style: with dinner in Au Fil du Zinc. Recommended!

The following day we visited two houses just south of Chablis, in the Cote d'Auxerre. At Goisot we were hosted in a beautiful cellar. There was little for sale, and the lady of the house explained that in 2017 92% of their harvest was destroyed in a single hailstorm, and that climate change has really affected them, mainly due to unprecedented extremes. At Gueguen the same storm missed most of their vineyards, and they served their wines with a speed that was almost too much for us. But we managed! Now all purchases were complete, and a long drive back to the Belgian coast was next, to the town of Zeebrugge. Here we treated ourselves to a dinner at Restaurant Bartolomeus in Knokke, with 2 Michelin stars. It was full with properly dressed Belgians, and seemed quite stiff at first. The food was superb, and especially the young sommelier impressed us, with his in-depth knowledge and ability to convince us to go off the beaten track, with an excellent Syrian wine as highlight.

The next morning we had a short drive to De Kleine Schorre, a Dutch winery on Schouwen Duivenland. The wines were somewhat disappointing (and expensive) after our experiences earlier in the week, but their parking was perfect to sort and repack the wines. With an arranged pick-up by Mary at a petrol station near Rotterdam Piet and his wines ended up safely at home. Re-tasting is next!