The legendary house Charles Heidsieck certainly belongs to the Great Names of Champagne, but the superior quality of the wine has long gone unnoticed by the general public. And that while this Brut Reserve is 'the best value Champagne on the market', if you ask Tom Stevenson (author of the World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine).

The excellent quality is mainly due to the fact that Heidsieck works with a share of no less than 40% reserve wines. These come from the most beautiful plots and from the best years. The wines are aged for about 5 to 15 years in barrel before they are used in the blend of the Brut Réserve. This gives this impressive Champagne a striking depth and complexity.

 

Although the grapes (equal parts chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier) come from a total of sixty different cru's, three of them determine the style. The grand cru Oger in the Côte de Blancs (chardonnay), the grand cru Ambonnay in Montagne de Reims (pinot noir) and the renowned Vallée de la Marne-cru Verneuil (meunier) have long been the soul of the Brut Réserve.

After careful blending by chef de cave Cyril Brun, the wine is aged for at least three years on the yeasts in the beautiful two millennium old crayères. These breathtaking, limestone-carved cellars in Reims are also Unesco World Heritage. After maturation, degorgement (the removal of the yeasts from the bottle) and bottling follow.

This method results in a truly sublime Champagne, which, although it bears the simple name Brut Réserve, tastes like a complex (multi) vintage Champagne - à la Krug, but much more affordable. It is not without reason that this beautiful wine has won a rain of medals and awards time and again. Drink the Brut Réserve as a festive and luxurious aperitif, or in combination with a bowl of oysters. Pure pleasure guaranteed!

Drink or keep?

While most non-vintage Champagne is best drunk young, a Champagne of this caliber can also mature in the bottle for several years. Depending on your preference for a young, fresh or more mature Champagne style, you can drink the Brut Reserve straight away or keep it for up to 5-6 years. Because a non-vintage Champgane cannot specify a harvest year, Heidsieck has come up with a particularly clever solution. On the back label of the bottle, the house has listed both the mise en crayères and the date de dégorgement. The former date indicates when the Champagne has entered the cellar to mature on the groin, the latter when the yeasts have been removed from the bottle and the Champagne is finally bottled. This way you not only know how long the Champagne has matured on the domain, but also until when you can still keep it yourself!