OLD HOUSE IN THE RUE DES ANGLAIS, REIMS.
The Rue des Anglais conducts into the Rue de l’Université, where a few remnants of the old University, founded by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine (1538–74), formerly attracted attention, notably a conical-capped corner tower, the sculptured ornaments at the base of which had crumbled into dust beneath the corroding tooth of Time.[423] From the Rue de l’Université our way lies along the Boulevard du Temple to the Porte Gerbert, about a mile beyond which there rises up the curious castellated structure in which the Pommery establishment is installed, with its tall towers commanding a view of the whole of Reims and its environs. As we drive up the Avenue Gerbert we espy on the right an isolated crumbling tower, a remnant of the ancient fortifications of Reims,[424] while close at hand, and under the old city-walls, is a grotto, to which an ancient origin is likewise ascribed. In another minute we reach the open iron gates of Messrs. Pommery’s establishment, flanked by a picturesque porter’s lodge; and proceeding up a broad drive, we alight under a Gothic portico at the entrance to the spacious and lofty cellier. Iron girders support the roof of this vast hall, 180 feet in length and 90 feet in width, without the aid of a single column. At one end is the office and tasting-room, provided with a telegraphic apparatus and telephone, by means of which communication is carried on with the Reims bureaux. Stacked up on every side of the cellier, and often in eight tiers when empty, are rows upon rows of casks, 6000 of which contain wine of the costly vintage of 1880 sufficient for a million and a half bottles of Champagne. The temperature of this hall is carefully regulated; the windows are high up near the roof, and the sun’s rays are rigidly excluded, so that a pleasant coolness pervades the building. On the left-hand side stand two huge tuns, with the monogram P. and G., surmounting the arms of Reims, carved on their heads. These are capable of containing 5500 gallons of wine, and in them the firm make their cuvée. A platform, access to which is gained by a staircase in a side aisle, runs round one of these foudres; and when the wine, which has been hoisted up in casks and poured through a metal trough into the foudre, is being blended, boys stand on this platform and, by means of a handle protruding above the cask, work the paddle-wheels placed inside, thereby securing the complete amalgamation of the wine. Adjoining are the chains and lifts worked by steam, by means of which wine is raised and lowered from and to the cellars beneath, one lift raising or lowering eight casks, whether full or empty, in the space of a minute.
THE POMMERY AND GRENO ESTABLISHMENT IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF REIMS.
At the farther end of the hall a Gothic door, decorated with ornamental ironwork, leads to the long broad flight of steps, 116 in number, and nearly twelve feet in width, conducting to the suite of lofty subterranean chambers, where bottles of vin brut repose in their hundreds of thousands in slanting racks or solid piles, passing leisurely through those stages of development necessary to fit them for the dégorgeur. Altogether there are 130 large shafts, 90 feet in depth and 60 feet square at their base, which were originally quarries, and are now connected by spacious galleries. This side of Reims abounds with similar chalk quarries, commonly believed to have served as places of refuge for the Protestants at the time of the League and after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes; and it is even conjectured that the early Christians—the followers of St. Sixtus and St. Sinicus—here hid themselves from their persecutors. Since the cellars within the city have no longer sufficed for the storage of the immense stocks required through the development of the Champagne trade, these vast subterranean galleries have been successfully utilised by various firms. Messrs. Pommery, after filling up the chambers above the water level, proceeded to excavate the connecting tunnels, shore up the cracking arches, and repair the flaws in the chalk with masonry, finally converting these abandoned quarries into magnificent cellars for the storage of Champagne. No less than 60,000 l. was spent upon them and the castellated structure aboveground. Several millions of bottles of Champagne can be stored in these capacious vaults, the area of which is nearly 450,000 square feet.
INTERIOR OF MESSRS. POMMERY AND GRENO’S CELLIER.
Madame Pommery made a great mark with her splendid cuvées of 1868 and 1874, the result being that her brand has become widely popular, and that it invariably realises exceptionally high prices.