Charles Heidsieck : Brut Réserve

Charles Heidsieck’s NV Brut Reserve is a fresh, floral wine with attractive pear and apple fruit, and an accessible personality. This is Lot 070792 12277, disgorged in 2007. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2010. Charles Heidsieck is one of Champagne’s historic houses. Charles-Camille Heidseick was an early pioneer in developing export markets for his wines as far back as 150 years ago. Today, this large estate based in Reims makes wines in an easygoing, pretty style. Importer: Remy Cointreau USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 424-2204

Luxurious and inviting in style, this has toasty, vanillin aromas, compelling and complex fruit flavors, a creamy smooth texture and a lingering finish. Much better than when tasted last year. Drink now. 160,000 cases made.

Even in the tricky 2017 vintage, Charles Heidsieck turns out an impeccable NV. The reserves form a serious, appetising core of dried apricot and sourdough around which zesty citrus, raspberry and bitter almond offer brightness and energy. Impressive detail and length. 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% Meunier, based on the 2017 vintage with 50% reserve wines up to 20 years of age, with 9% barrel‑fermented wines.

Very impressive for a “regular” non-vintage Brut, not only in terms of aromatic complexity—candied citrus, dried peach and fresh mirabelle plus a hint of bread dough—but also in terms of texture, with the creamy, rich and crisp sides of the wine neatly interlocking. Long, structured finish. A cuvée that’s half 2018 and half reserve wines, some of which are a couple of years old, but many are five to ten years old, with several over ten years old. Drink or hold.

(made from roughly one-third each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; 11 g/l dosage; disgorged in 2013 after five years on its yeasts): Bright yellow. Potent smoke-tinged orchard and pit fruit aromas are complemented by notes of tarragon, toasted brioche and pungent flowers. Fleshy and broad on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering juicy pear and nectarine flavors and a bracing kick of chalky minerals. This rich yet lively Champagne finishes with very good thrust and length and repeating smokiness.

Pale yellow-green with silver highlights, delicate, persistent mousse. Subtle yellow-fruit nuances, a hint of yellow plum, notes of white flowers, green apple, and lime zest on the bouquet. Taut and tightly woven on the palate, with fine extract sweetness, fresh acidity, saline minerality, and a delicate aftertaste of orange zest.

The NV Champagne Reserve Brut, a blend of 40% each Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, pours a yellow/golden color and is generous and inviting, with loads of classic charm in its notes of brioche, ripe peaches, honied citrus, and fresh flowers. The palate is medium framed but fleshed out by a rounded mousse and has a suggestion of decadence as well as a clean finish. This highly appealing multi-vintage cuvée sees a high percentage of reserve wine going into the final blend, which adds a very well-integrated and layered feel. Drink now or over the coming 5-7 years. Disgorged 2022.

Charles Heidsieck’s signature cuvée, the Brut Réserve NV, is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, largely Grand and Premier Cru fruit, with 20% Pinot Meunier. The “signature” element is the high percentage of reserve wines in this non-vintage cuvée; 52% are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reserve wines ranging from 12 to 23 years old, and the remaining 48% comes from the 2018 base vintage fermented in stainless steel, with 8–9% fermented in barrel. It is aged for 4 years and has a nine grams per liter dosage. A lovely, light golden color, it opens with notes of crème brûlée and light toast that accent underlying lemon cream and white peach aromas. The light- to medium-bodied palate is textured and supple, with a fresh, lemony acid line wrapped around a rich core of honeyed stone fruit. The reserve wines lend complexity and discreet power to the long, refreshing finish. A sophisticated NV cuvée throughout. Disgorged in 2023. Lot: L230329-3073

Aged in Crayères in 2015, it respectfully highlights the 40% reserve wines, blended with the 2014 harvest, with the oldest reaching up to 10 years. Its pale gold hue suggests macerated or roasted white and yellow stone fruits. The nose is rich and intense, with delicate rancio notes of butter and white mushrooms alongside rich dried fruits, nougat, Viennese pastries, then fresh fromage blanc. On opening, an appealing warm vine-shoot ash note flickers on the surface. The palate offers a fine harmony between smoothness and well-mannered freshness. Gently toasted peanuts coat the mouth, and the finish—precise like a lemon sweet—shows a subtly mischievous charm. Multiple nuances for this high-flying brut.

A beautiful palette of aromas in a reduced, lees-aged profile that never slips into austerity.

Bright light golden colour with vivid fine bubbles. Good depth and autolytic complexity on the nose with ripe stone fruit, confit de citron, roasted hazelnut, fresh butter, pastry and floral hints. Generous palate with good volume and a gentle creamy texture, underlined by a vibrant freshness, nutty yellow fruit and butter flavours with fine layers, depth and a long supple finish.

Medium-full and frothy in the mouth, the wine offers mouthcoating butterscotch and Macintosh apple flavors, and dust and light citrus aromas. Has richness and character, particularly for a nonvintage offering. Cellared in 1997 and disgorged in 2002, it is composed of 40% reserve wine and 60% wine from the 1996 harvest.