Description
Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 2014 750ml is the Reims house’s top vintage Champagne, made only from Côte des Blancs Chardonnay grown in the single 2014 harvest. It is the eighth vintage of this wine since the first in 1983, and matures for about nine years on its lees in the chalk cellars before release.
Buy Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 2014 Online in NZ
Open it at 9 to 10°C and pour into a generous white wine glass, giving it time to develop as it warms. Pair it with butter-poached crayfish, scallops or a simple roast chicken, and consider cellaring a bottle further.
- 2014 vintage, 100% Chardonnay
- Côte des Blancs villages including Avize, Cramant and Oger
- About nine years on lees in chalk cellars
Blanc des Millénaires began with the 1983 vintage, created by cellar master Daniel Thibault, and few vintages have been released since. Its Chardonnay comes from the Côte des Blancs, traditionally from the Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, along with Vertus.
The 2014 has its own place in that history. Thierry Roset was cellar master for a brief period and died after the 2014 harvest, so this is the only Blanc des Millénaires from his time. Cyril Brun then put the blend together. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, and the wine stays on fine lees until bottling the following June, keeping the focus on Chardonnay and chalk. The long rest in the crayères does the rest of the work, in chambers up to 30 metres high with stable temperature and humidity.
Expect candied lemon, grapefruit, blanched almond and brioche, with honeycomb and orchard fruit. The palate carries white peach and tangerine over a smoky, chalky saline line, with depth and length from the long lees ageing.
A bottle for serious Champagne collectors and Chardonnay lovers, whether for drinking now or keeping for many years.
