Grand Cru Day Tour
The Premier & Grand Cru classification identifies the top quality grapes in Champagnes. Grand Crus grapes are only made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (Blanc de Blancs) grapes, sometimes referred to as Noble Grapes. Premier Cru can also include Pinot Meunier.
Grand & Premier Cru Tastings
Grand and Premier Cru Champagnes can be tasted at both Large Houses as well as at high quality family vineyards. Legendary houses like Dom Perignon offer 2 of their 50/50% Grand Cru Cuvees to taste after a cellar tour and Ruinart's 100% Blanc de Blancs. You may also like to try a wider selection and comparison vintage Grand Cru tastings at smaller vineyards that manage the entire process from growing the grapes to bottling. Here are sample tastings you can request
• Dom Perignon tasting
• Taittinger 100% Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Comtes de Champagne tasting
• Chardonnay comparison tasting
• Grand Cru Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend tasting
• Grand Cru vineyard picnic lunch
• 100% Pinot Noir tasting
• Grand Cru vintage and non vintage comparison tasting
• Pinot Meunier Premier Cru Vertical Tasting
• Pinot Noir Premier Cru
Grand & Premier Cru Villages
Chardonnay
Grand Cru villages: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry
Famous Chardonnay Brands : Ruinart, Taititnger, Gosset
Drive south of Epernay to the Grand Cru villages of Avize and Cramant, where Chardonnay grapes reveal a vibrant, golden hue, often confused with Pinot Blanc due to their similar appearance. Visit member of L'Artisan du Champagne for panoramic views and a focused tasting of multi-Chardonnay vintages.
Pinot Noir
Grand Cru villages: Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois, Mailly, Sillery, Verzenay, Verzy
Famous Pinot Noir Brands Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Philipponnat
Visit the Grand Cru villages of Verzenay and Verzy, where you can visit domains with centuries of heritage offering rare, terroir-driven cuvees. Experience the depth and complexity of Grand Cru Pinot Noir, celebrated for its structured and expressive profile. Explore the Grand Cru villages of Bouzy, famed for its Rose Champagne and birthplace of Madame Veuve Clicquot.
The Grand Cru Quality System
After the Champagne riots in 1911, Champagne created the Echelle des Crus, a percentile system, applying a set price by a joint committee of growers and houses for each harvest and based on an evaluation of the quality and potential of the grapes from a village. Grand Cru villages received 100%, Premier crus 90 to 99% and everything else 80-89%.
A label with a "grand cru" stamp must contain 100% grand cru and must be sourced entirely from vineyards in Grand Cru villages. There are 17 Grand Cru (Great Growth) villages. The labels indicate the region where a wine was produced, but not always the grapes used. A bottle without a cru label may still contain cru grapes.