Invitations To 300-year-old Private Cellars In Champagne

Immersive, expert-led journeys tailored to individual passions, designed exclusively for private parties and featuring a signature Mandarin Oriental welcome and touches.

Mandarin Oriental has partnered with The Luminaire, who create luxury travel experiences that offer a deeper understanding of the world, to design a collection of transformational journeys for a growing number of our hotels. 

On a three-day journey designed for Mandarin Oriental, Paris, explore the Champagne region, meet producers and cellar masters of iconic houses and enter invitation-only cellars for exclusive tasting experiences with world-leading viticulture experts.

Descend 30 metres and unlock gates to a completely private section of the legendary Moët & Chandon cellar in Épernay and, taste a selection of the 280-year-old Champagne house’s acclaimed grand vintages. Hold a sabre to open fine vintages, with tutelage in the art of sabrage, in a private masterclass at Vranken Pommery Monopole, head behind closed doors at Dom Pérignon, before discovering the unique biodynamic techniques of Leclerc Briant in a one-of-a-kind experience exclusive to The Luminaire.

This multi-day experience is subject to availability, from £10,695 per person, including one night at Mandarin Oriental, Paris and 1 nights at Domaine les Crayères.

Submit Enquiry

Garden view at Mandarin Oriental, Paris.

Day 1 - Arrive at Mandarin Oriental, Paris

Begin your journey at Mandarin Oriental, Paris. This contemporary five-star hotel is a short walk from the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries. The Luminaire can arrange a private spa suite experience with Champagne at the award-winning spa or reserve a table for Champagne cocktails at the hotel’s Bar 8. The Luminaire can also make arrangements for dinner at Camélia, which serves French seasonal dishes, overlooking the hotel’s landscaped garden.

Day 2 - Treasures of a Unique Terroir

After a leisurely breakfast, leave the city behind with a private driver, arriving in Épernay, the capital of the Champagne region, in around two hours. Visit one of Champagne’s most legendary and ancient houses, Moët & Chandon, founded in 1743. With an ancient key, unlock their private cellar and step through the threshold into this fascinating space. Discover the art of ‘Haute Oenology’ Champagne making with a private tasting of the prestigious Moët Impérial and Grand Vintage collections. The intricate Collection Impériale Création No.1 will delight connoisseurs and collectors – a rare, multi-vintage prestige cuvée, and the first of the series 'cuvées d’exception’, released every two years to honour the house’s 300th anniversary in 2043. Then stroll through the chalk-rich Fort Chabrol vineyards with a Moët & Chandon ambassador, who will reveal some of the secrets of this biodiverse terroir. Exclusive to The Luminaire, guests are invited to watch the disgorging process of Champagne production, where sediment is ejected from bottles. This largely unseen process is specific to the Champagne region.

Travel to Reims for dinner. Take our recommendations for Michelin-level 'art on a plate', or a tiny French 'coin' if you'd prefer authentic regional food. Stay overnight in the elegant Domaine les Crayères, set in a seven-hectare park in the heart of the city.

Day 3 - A Monk Named Dom Pierre Pérignon

Today, a private masterclass awaits. Learn the art of opening a Champagne bottle with a sabre at Vranken Pommery Monopole. To open your first bottle a Napoleon sabre, which can be kept as a memento of the experience. Toast this new-found skill with a glass from the just-uncorked bottle.

Return to Epernay and go behind closed doors for an exclusive tasting experience at the Dom Pérignon salon, enjoying vintages not available anywhere else in the world. Learn how young monk Dom Pierre Pérignon reportedly ‘discovered’ champagne in 1693, calling: “Brothers, come quickly, I am drinking the stars”.

In the early afternoon, travel to the private cellar of pioneering Champagne house Leclerc Briant to gain insight into an innovative style of viticulture. The winery’s sole vineyard, La Croisette, has been cultivated biodynamically since its creation in the 1950s and is the source of the house’s renowned ‘Sélections Parcellaires’ (single vineyard) range. Learn the secrets of growing grapes in balance with nature from world-leading experts, then conclude the visit with a private tasting overlooking Épernay and the magnificent surrounding landscape.

Drive back west, returning to Paris.

Inclusions

1 night at Mandarin Oriental, Paris, including breakfast.
1 night at Domaine les Crayères, including breakfast, a classic French château in Reims with extensive grounds.
Private cellar visits and champagne tastings guided by experts at Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon and Leclerc Briant Champagne houses with exclusive access to viticulture experts and select cellars.
Exclusive access to a private Moët & Chandon cellar to watch the ‘disgorging’ technique, a rarely seen process to eject sediment from Champagne bottles unique to the region.
Participate in a private workshop to master the art of opening a Champagne bottle with a sabre at Vranken Pommery Monopole.
Luxury private chauffeur-driven journeys as described.

When to Travel

Magnificent in all seasons.
Experiences are subject to availability.

Exclusions

Flights to/from Paris.
Excursions, meals and drinks other than those mentioned.
Rare or specified vintages for tastings.

More MO Exclusive Journeys

Swiss Watchmaking

Family-owned estate with farm-to-table dining.

The Heartland of Italian Food: Heritage Producers

Hands-on with the Preservers of Spain's Priceless Art