Taittinger

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.