Charles Heidsieck - Brut Reserve NV | Monsieur Touton Selection

Description

COMPLEX, PROFOUND AND INDULGENT, the Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve has been given the gift of time, as one discovers upon tasting it. The House specifies on each bottle the year of cellaring and of disgorgement to advise connoisseurs on the cellar aging process. The rare, thousand-year-old Crayères, purchased by Charles Heidsieck in 1867, inspired the bottle’s large base and narrow neck to create a new silhouette for the non-vintage wine bottles. This unique shape increases the volume of wine in contact with the lees, thereby enhancing its aromatic range and the complexity of the Brut Réserve.

THE BRUT RÉSERVE EXPRESSES the very quintessence of the Charles Heidsieck style. Easily recognizable, this wine is the result of a unique blend that can be summarized in one equation: 60/40/10. 60: the number of hand-selected crus for a blend that is precise, crisp and tailor-made. Wines produced in the harvest year, a third for each variety (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), are vinified cru by cru, variety by variety, in stainless steel vats. 40: a high proportion of 40% reserve wines, equally divided between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, ensure the fine complexity and voluptuousness of the Brut Réserve. 10: the reserve wines average age, extraordinary for Champagne. Sourced from the best crus produced in the greatest years, the wines placed in reserve are kept for between 5 and 15 years in stainless steel tanks. This maturing time is essential for their refinement and for the development of their aromatic range.

From amongst the 60 crus selected to create this iconic wine, three form the stylistic pillars of the Brut Réserve: Oger (Chardonnay grand cru from the Côte des Blancs) gives it fleshy, generous notes; Ambonnay (Pinot Noir grand cru from the Montagne de Reims) synonymous with strength, structure and fruitiness; and finally Verneuil (Meunier from the Marne Valley), ensures balance and unctuous texture. EXCEPTIONAL MATURATION. The Cellar Master adds an essential principle to the “Charles style”: the dimension of Time - his “fourth grape variety” - that is taken far beyond the 15-month norm of the region.

Tasting notes

Delicate, vivacious and long-lasting bubbles are the result of a long and slow maturing process. With 40% of reserve wines, the blend offers a complex, voluptuous nose with notes of freshly baked brioche and toasted nuts with mango, apricot along with a touch of dried fruits, pistachio and almond. The texture is plush with citurs, red plums and ripe cherries. The reserve wines, some dating back more than 15 years, give the wine lushness with a touch of praline along with delicate vanilla notes.

Estate

Charles Heidsieck is the smallest of the Grandes Marques Champagne Houses. Based in the Reims region of Champagne, it is one of the best-known producers for both vintage and non-vintage cuvée. In 1851, young Charles Heidsieck founded his own Champagne house in Reims. He understood that the United States was an important emerging market, so he traversed America repeatedly north to south promoting his new brand. The stylish entrepreneur became known lovingly as “Champagne Charlie.”

Technical data

Sustainable, Vegan, Vegetarian
Winemaker: Thierry Roset
Alcohol (ABV): 12 %
Acidity: 6.4 g/l
Residual sugar: 11.2 g/l

Vinification

After the first fermentation, the wine is racked to separate the lees and then undergoes malolactic fermentation to soften the natural acidity. After blending, using 40% reserve wines which have an average age of 10 years, the cuvée is bottled and selected yeast added to begin the second fermentation. The bottles are placed in the cellars at a temperature of 10°C. In order to achieve the depth and complexity required by the house style, Charles Heidsieck age their Non-Vintage champagne for at least five years before disgorging, much longer than the legal requirement of 15 months.

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