Some of the most memorable moments in Champagne are not necessarily the most elaborate. Sometimes it is simply a bottle, a vineyard and something very good to eat.
In the premier cru village of Cumières, there is a parcel called La Côte à Bras, a steep, historic place for growing some of the region's early-ripening fruit. A section of this belongs to the family behind Joseph Perrier and is planted mostly to Pinot Noir. From it comes a wine of the same name: La Côte à Bras, a single-vineyard Blanc de Noirs made in a Brut Nature style, that is, without dosage. It's one of my favourites representing this style; a particularly pure expression of the site - generous enough to remind you that this is Pinot Noir from a warmer site, but cut through with the freshness and salinity that has become a signature of the wine.
We were there with Benjamin Fourmon, sixth-generation CEO of Joseph Perrier and someone I have come to know well through my years in Champagne.
Benjamin had invited us for an apéritif among the vines. There were canapés, La Côte à Bras in our glasses and, most memorably, platters of fresh oysters.
It is not necessarily the pairing people expect with a Blanc de Noirs. We tend to instinctively reach for Chardonnay with oysters, yet with this champagne, it makes complete sense. Without dosage to soften its edges, La Côte à Bras has an authoritative directness to it, while that saline, almost briny line through the wine picks up the oyster beautifully. Pinot Noir brings just enough breadth and texture around it.
For one of my guests, however, the pairing meant rather more.
Her father had been an oyster farmer. Standing in a vineyard in Champagne, eating oysters and drinking a wine grown only metres away, brought back something deeply personal. She became quite emotional. It was a lovely reminder that the experiences we remember from travel are rarely just about what was served. They are about the connections those moments unexpectedly create.
From the vineyard, Benjamin welcomed us into his family's private estate in Cumières, a property with its own long connection to Joseph Perrier and one that is closed to the public. We began with an apéritif in its formal French gardens before moving inside for lunch, beautifully hosted by Benjamin, with a succession of Joseph Perrier champagnes alongside a gastronomic menu.
These are the days I most enjoy creating for our Signature Journeys. Not because access for its own sake is the objective, but because relationships allow us to experience Champagne in a much more personal way. Sometimes that means walking a vineyard with the person responsible for it. Sometimes it means being welcomed around a family table.
And occasionally, it means oysters among the vines.
Champagne is easy to visit, but experiencing it from the inside is something else entirely. Experience Champagne, my way.
Sara Underdown
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