Taittinger: 4th Century Roman Crypts

Gallo-Roman chalk crayères 18 metres under Reims, worked for chalk from the 3rd century AD; the oldest quarries are 4th-century and those are the UNESCO-listed ones. Some connecting tunnels run 40 metres high, and from seven metres down the temperature holds at 10–12°C all year round. The hill takes its name from Saint Nicaise, a 5th-century bishop of Reims killed when barbarians overran the city; construction of the abbey church above began in 1231 and nothing of it survives above ground. Comtes de Champagne rests down here for nearly ten years before release.

A Wine Memories experience · winememories.fi

Taittinger: 4th Century Roman Crypts — Stock photograph — illustrative, not a picture of this location.

Country

🇫🇷 France

Duration

1.5 hours

Venue

📍

Taittinger

winery · Reims

How to Complete

4 steps curated by Wine Memories

You descend 18 meters into the Saint-Nicaise crypts (9 Place Saint-Nicaise, Reims), where monks were massacred by Vandal barbarians in 407 AD. These Roman-carved chalk quarries became crypts, now filled with champagne — the ultimate transformation of sacred space. Book at taittinger.com or call +33 3 26 85 84 33 for tours at 9:30am, 11am, 2pm, 3:30pm. €29 for Classic Tour (2 wines), €45 for Prestige (4 wines + Comtes de Champagne). Count the steps as you descend — 18 meters into history.

🔄 BACKUP: If sold out, Pommery has similar depth (30m) but different history.

🍷 Log Memory
Roman prisoners carved these chalk galleries 2000 years ago with hand tools, leaving diagonal chisel marks in herringbone patterns that are still visible throughout the Saint-Nicaise cellars. During your tour, stop at any exposed chalk wall section and ask your guide: "Can you show us the original Roman chisel marks?" Touch the wall gently — you're touching 2000-year-old craftsmanship that predates Christianity.

🔄 BACKUP: The deepest section always has the most visible marks.

🍷 Log Memory
You're drinking champagne that aged where monks once rested before being murdered — Taittinger Brut Réserve (blend of 35 villages) or Comtes de Champagne on the Prestige tour (100% Chardonnay from grand cru, aged 10+ years). In the tasting room or within the crypts themselves, ask: "How long have bottles been aging in the exact spot we're standing?" The answer ranges from 3-15 years of slumber in sacred ground.

🔄 BACKUP: Buy a bottle to drink at the Reims Cathedral viewpoint.

🍷 Log Memory
Massive pyramids of up to 20,000 bottles rise like industrial cathedrals in the main aging gallery — each bottle turned by hand during riddling. Find the largest pyramid and count the layers (usually 12-15), then ask: "How many bottles are in this pyramid?" The staggering numbers reveal the scale of champagne production hidden beneath Reims.

🔄 BACKUP: Every gallery has at least one pyramid.

🍷 Log Memory

Tagged

champagne
tour
historic
roman

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Taittinger: 4th Century Roman Crypts

Venue

How to Complete

Descend to the Massacre Site

Find the Roman Chisel Marks

Toast in the Monks' Sanctuary

Witness the Pyramid of Bottles

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