Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV, Champagne, 75cl (Base 2008)
Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve is one of Champagne's great overachievers, built around an extraordinary reserve wine programme that sees around 50% of the blend drawn from older vintages, many averaging a decade in age. Much like Krug Grande Cuvée, the emphasis is on complexity, consistency and depth rather than simply reflecting a single harvest, though at a fraction of the price. The result is a remarkably rich and complete Champagne, offering layers of brioche, toasted nuts and ripe orchard fruit balanced by freshness and finesse, making it one of the finest non-vintage Champagnes available today.
"Pale greenish gold. Tight and tense on the nose and a note of linseed. Extremely intense and dry and almost like wringing out a cloth, it’s so tense. Bone-dry finish – you would never guess the dosage of 11 g/l. Great tension and density, and still great potential! Very marked acidity. I would prefer to cellar it for the moment." Jancis Robinson MW, August 2017
"The rise and rise of Charles Heidsieck over the past seven years is unparalleled in the sparkling world. Brut Réserve NV has no rival besides Krug itself (at three times the price), currently reverberating with 40% reserves (of average age 19 years), contrasting the radiant freshness of the epic 2008 base vintage. For the price, it’s the best bubbles on the planet right now." Tyson Stelzer