Monday 16th May 2022 – Coucy le Chateau Auffrique, France

 

Rain greeted us when we woke this morning but by 10:00 when Lamoureux opened, the rain had stopped and we were able to walk the few hundred metres to the building in the dry. We tasted two of their champagnes but much preferred the same one that we bought las time, their Brut Reserve made from Pinot Noir grapes. We bought six bottles and I managed to squeeze the case into the Cara’s garage.
It was a day for trousers rather than the shorts that I had been wearing for the last few days although the weather improved considerably as we headed north. In the past we have only touched a small part of the Champagne area and we were surprised that, long into the journey, we were still passing champagne producers. The vineyards were not continuous, being separated by woodland and other crops and we often thought that we had left the area before coming across more signs for champagne. Apparently, there are over 2,000 producers but we resisted the temptation to stop and do any more tasting.
We made a couple of stops on the way. As well as glimpsing a few chateaux, I had identified two ancient abbeys marked on our map that were just off our satnav route. The first, Abbaye du Reclus,  was not very interesting although at the weekend they had held a public event with food and events – we had missed it by one day. Just down the road was Domaine des Forges, a series of pretty fishing lakes and we stopped to take a look. This was almost certainly the fish lakes created by the abbey. As we walked around we saw lots of large fish swimming and the many fisherman had all caught a number. Fishing doesn’t appeal to me but if I did try it, this would be a good place with its lovely scenery.
Just a few kilometres further on, after passing an area of scattered oil wells with their nodding donkeys, we came to the Abbaye d’Orbais in the aptly named village of Orbais l’Abbaye. The abbey dominates the village and was well worth the short time that we spent there.
Jane had identified an aire for us to spend the night. It was worth a visit just for its name Coucy le Chateau Auffrique, but it was a good choice. We parked up in a pitch with a great view of the castle perched above the village.

Photos: The Lamoureux wine tasting room; The Domaine des Forges fishing lakes; Abbaye du Reclus; WWII memorial of the Battle of the Marne at Dormans viewed over a Champagne vineyard with many more visible on the hills beyond; View from our pitch at Coucy le Chateau Auffrique.