Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve Champagne
- we92
- ws92
- wa92+
- d91
Category | Sparkling Wine |
Varietals | |
Brand | Charles Heidsieck |
Origin | France, Champagne, Reims |
Alcohol/vol | 12% |
Winemaker Notes :
A deep golden robe. Delicate vivacious and long-lasting bubbles are the result of more than 36 months of ageing in chalk cellars. With 40% of reserve wines (the maximum possible amount), the blend offers a complex, voluptuous nose with notes of freshly baked brioche and the richness of roasted coffee beans. A precise selection of wines, purposely limited to 60 crus, ensures the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve a deliciously sophisticated harmony. An opulent selection of ripe, sun-drenched fruits such as mango, apricot, and greengage plum combines with dried fruits, pistachio and almond. The texture is reminiscent of a crisp layer of nougatine on a velvety cream pastry filled with plump red plums and ripe cherries. The reserve wines, some dating back ten years give the wine lushness. The depth of the thousand-year-old chalk quarries where the wine matures offer a touch of praline along with notes of amber and vanilla.
Wine Enthusiast
- we92
An extra touch of aging before disgorgement has given this Champagne a fine balance. Hints of toast as well as tight acidity have come from the equal blend of the three main grapes. The fruitiness is still very present, offering crisp citrus to balance the edge of maturity.
Wine Spectator
- ws92
An elegant Champagne, bright and mouthwatering, offering flavors of black currant, lemon curd, toasted almond candied ginger set on a silky mousse and lingering on the creamy finish. Drink now through 2023. 4,000 cases imported.
Wine Advocate
- wa92+
Based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by fully 40% old reserve wines, the new release of Charles Heidsieck's NV Brut Réserve was disgorged earlier this year. It's showing very well, opening up in the glass with notes of green apple, dried white flowers, pear, candied peel and walnuts. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a textural attack and a racier, tighter-knit core than either the 2012- or 2010-base renditions, displaying good concentration and underlying richness. This is a bottling that continues to punch above its weight and which both merits and rewards a few years in the cellar before opening.
Decanter
- d91
Contrasts creamy texture with zesty acidity and ripe fruit, feeling lively and vibrant overall. Accomplished and seductive in equal measure.