G.H. Martel & Co champagne tour: visits, prices & booking

History

Gustav Heinrich Martel worked as a grower in Avenay-Val-d’Or before founding G.H. Martel in Épernay in 1869. Its founding town differs from the present visitor address, 17 rue des Créneaux in Reims. The modern cellar museum stands by Saint-Remi, in the southern part of the city.

The Tabourin family acquired the business in the early 1920s. Henry-Léopold Tabourin had worked for Auguste Devaux and studied Champagne oenology. He and his son developed the house before the next ownership change.

After André Tabourin’s death, Ernest Émile Rapeneau bought the business in 1979. The company’s family chronology names François and Bernard in the succeeding generation, followed by Jean-Rémy, Vincent, Paul-Alexandre and Charles Henry. Christophe Rapeneau is the cellar master identified by the present production account.

The limited-edition 150 Ans bottle marks the anniversary of the 1869 foundation. It is a 2009 vintage, blending 53 per cent Pinot Noir with 47 per cent Chardonnay. Other dated releases include Célébration Millésime 2012. These names retain distinct anniversary and harvest references.

The Reims crayères descend to twenty-two metres. The house dates their excavation between the fourth and fifteenth centuries, a much longer history than the Champagne business itself. A chalk engraving dated 1898 is among the details highlighted in its heritage account.

The cellar museum assembles machines and tools associated with planting, working the slopes and harvesting. Its displays connect the underground storage spaces with work carried out above ground in the vineyard. The house’s World Heritage account records 4 July 2015, the date of the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars inscription.

G.H. Martel & Co: the place and its story

Its crayères reach 22m deep and were excavated between the fourth and fifteenth centuries. The cellar museum contains vineyard and winemaking tools. The present booking page gives seventy-five minutes for both guided cellar products, which is used here instead of the older heritage page’s seventy-minute average.

Prestige compares two non-vintage wines, white and rosé. Victoire compares a non-vintage and a vintage wine. French and English appear on the booking page. Separate tasting-only products offer the same Prestige and Victoire comparisons without a cellar tour.

The Rapeneau family dedicates one hundred hectares of its own HVE level-three-certified vines to G.H. Martel, alongside partnerships representing another two hundred hectares. Main origins include Sermiers, Chamery, Écueil, Sacy and Ville-Dommange in the Petite Montagne de Reims, and Broyes and Sézanne in the Sézannais. Each terroir is vinified separately before blending.

Brut Prestige blends 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier and has a 10g/l dosage. The house pairs it with sea-bass carpaccio, sea salt and citrus zest. The limited-edition 150 Ans bottle is a 2009 vintage, combining 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay; its suggested pairing is porcini risotto with black truffle.

The cellar museum displays machines and tools connected with planting, hillside maintenance and harvest. The heritage page records the Champagne UNESCO inscription on 4 July 2015 and shows a chalk engraving dated 1898. The visitor route therefore combines quarry architecture with a collection of vineyard equipment.

The heritage page lists boutique hours as 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–19:00 daily. Direct reservations use boutique@champagnemartel.com or +33 (0)3 26 82 70 67. The website’s booking module identifies Rue des Vignerons as the provider; a dated Prestige or Victoire selection distinguishes a guided cellar ticket from its tasting-only counterpart.

Visits and tastings

Three contrasting white champagnes

G.H. Martel’s Intemporelle Blanc de Noirs combines 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Meunier, with a 10g/l dosage. The official pairing is farmhouse-poultry ballotine with morels and a blackcurrant-and-pink-pepper condiment. Despite the dark-skinned grape varieties, this is a white champagne.

The Intemporelle Blanc de Blancs is entirely Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims, also at 10g/l dosage. The separate Victoire Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay at 8g/l. Its producer page associates it with the Côte des Blancs and suggests Brittany lobster ravioli with citrus emulsion and herbs. The range therefore contains two different Blanc de Blancs labels.

The collection menu distinguishes Intemporelles, Victoire and limited editions. Alongside the 150 Ans 2009 bottle, the limited-edition list names Collection Familiale and Célébration Millésime 2012. The Prestige and Victoire visitor-ticket names refer to tasting selections; the dated booking description specifies the number and type of wines included.

A weekday lunch near Saint-Remi

Le Square is at 122 rue Ponsardin in the Saint-Remi district. Its own contact page lists opening Monday–Friday from 09:30 to 15:00, closed Saturday and Sunday (checked October 2026). The restaurant changes its blackboard of starters, mains and desserts daily, so no fixed dish is assigned to a particular visit date.

Reserve directly on +33 3 26 85 27 77 or contact@lesquare-reims.fr. The lunch address is rue Ponsardin, while the Martel cellar entrance is 17 rue des Créneaux. The two reservations are made with different businesses; a Martel cellar ticket does not include the restaurant meal.

A canal-side hotel option

Hyatt Centric Reims is at 31 boulevard Paul Doumer, overlooking the Aisne–Marne Canal. Its official fact sheet lists 155 guest rooms and describes five suites: two Family suites and three One Bedroom suites. Facilities include self-service indoor parking and in-room dining. The hotel’s current website gives its reservation number as +33 3 66 32 12 34; select the stay through Hyatt’s official hotel page.

Access and facilities

G.H. Martel was founded in Épernay in 1869 and now receives visitors at 17 rue des Créneaux, Reims. The house places itself 100m from Saint-Remi Basilica, near the Saint-Timothée bus stop.

Request access details from G.H. Martel & Co

Official information

G.H. Martel & Co official information and booking

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