Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve… An Epic NV Champagne That You ARE Going To Want To Hide From Your Partner!

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve is an epic champagne.

If ever I want to spoil myself, this is where I will start.

Every time.

I love this wine.

I really love this wine!

When people ask me

“What’s your favourite champagne?”

I can never give an answer with just ONE champagne. I always say it’s a bit like asking a mother to pick her favourite child.

My favourite champagne always depends on my mood, the occasion, the budget, what I tried last BUT the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (and Krug) always feature somewhere in my answer.

Technically an NV champagne, I think it is more deserving of being considered a multi-vintage champagne (like Krug). But this is such a spectacular champagne you could be forgiven for mistaking it as a vintage or even cuvée de prestige champagne… it really is that good.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve

Bubble & Flute Review 

In a few words… my absolute favourite. The very best. My Idris Elba champagne (see more below)

In a few sentences… This is a sensational champagne – arguably the best NV champagne on the market. This champagne manages to be complex with all the hallmarks of an aged champagne – honey, brioche, and velvety ripe fruit laced with vanilla – at the same time as being remarkably fresh. If I had to pick one champagne to drink every day for the rest of my life, this is it. Or if I could take just one champagne to take a deserted island, this is it.

Moment or mood…  This is no ordinary champagne and so it is definitely a special occasion champagne… and just having a glass of this champagne will make any moment special. 

Where to buy it… Now available in Dan Murphy’s for about $97 a bottle.

*Bubble & Flute Champagne Style – Rich & Robust AND Bold & Adventurous

Wine Expert Reviews 

Tyson Stelzer –  The delectable Charles Heidsieck mood is nothing short of winter-time generosity, full-straw hue, mellow autumn leaf character, contemplative appeal, waxy, creamy, fleshy, toasty and brimming with juicy stone fruits, fig, pear and crunchy red apples. It declares its magnificent age and deep reserves in rumbling maturity of dried peach, coffee, cocoa, nougat, pâtisserie, deep mixed spice, even pipe smoke, molten wax and truffles… you get the idea (the grand complexity of Charles always evokes the longest lists of flavour comparisons in my notes). Fragrance, freshness and vitality are preserved in crunchy grapefruit and lemon, which linger with brilliant line and length on a finish underscored by the structural depth of pronounced, fine, soft, salt minerality. The 2012 is a particularly refined base vintage of poise and confidence that define a triumphant and worthy Charles. The complexity of recipe and depth of mood of this generous cuvée counter the grip of the challenging 2010 season in a dynamic and compelling style. The 2008 remains the greatest of them all, billowingly complex, at once silky and creamy and yet blessed with the brilliant radiance that defines 2008. A prestige cuvée disguised behind an affordable label. Quintessential Charles. 94 Points 

Julia Harding on JancisRobinson.com – Subtle lemony nose. Stony, too, with the merest hint of white blossom, holds up really well in the glass. The smoky, reductive character is very slight but highlights the mineral/stony aspect. The citrus fruit and peel are ripe but there is masses of tension. The mousse is fine and gentle and also lasts really well in the glass. Becomes a little more toasty with air. Deep yet extremely refined, pulling in to a precise finish. 18/20 

Tasting Notes from Charles Heidsieck 

Eye… A deep golden hue. Delicate, vivacious and long-lasting bubbles are the result of a long, slow maturing process in the chalk cellars. 

Nose… Thanks to 40% reserve wines, the blend offers a complex, elegant, voluptuous nose with a touch of freshly baked brioche, rich toasted notes and sun-drenched fruits – mango, apricot and mirabelle plum – accented by dried fruits, pistachio and almond.  

Palate… The texture is reminiscent of a crips layer of nougatine on a velvety cream pastry, filled with plump red plums and ripe cherries. The selection of reserve wines gives the wine lushness. The finish unveils notes of pralines and vanilla.

Food pairings… It deserves food. Would pair well with a rich cheese platter, foie gras or a roast pork belly.

The Technical Details

The Blend

40% Pinot Noir

40% Chardonnay

20% Meunier

Blended from 60 crus (including grand crus, premier crus, and crus) 

Dosage – 11 g/l 

Aged – 3-4 years on lees

Reserve wines – 40% reserve wines, the average ten years but as old as 20 years

Fermentation – stainless steel tanks, cru by cru, variety by variety with full malolactic fermentation.

Total annual production – 1 million bottles 

Charles Heidsieck Champagne and Idris Elba 

A few years ago, I served Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve in a blind tasting with six other NV champagnes to a group of champagne lovers who were all also my girlfriends, not fancy-pants wine experts.

After we sampled each wine blind, they all picked the Charles Heidsieck champagne in their top two wines BEFORE they knew what each wine was. When the tasting was over, and all the champagnes had been revealed and I asked them which wine they wanted me to pour more of first… the resounding response was “the Charlie”.

Because I love a champagne reference that everyone can relate to and most of the other champagnes in that tasting had a reference (Pol Roger & Audrey Hepburn, Bollinger & Adele, Taittinger & Jack Johnson, Brimoncourt & The Hill Top Hoods) after the tasting we debated (at length) how to describe this champagne in non-champagne terms.

For me, Charles Heidsieck Champagne and Idris Elba are a perfect match. Idris Elba is sexy, suave, stylish, smooth, a little bit cheeky and naughty – a lot like the founder of Charles Heidsieck, Champagne Charlie (which you can read about here). Charles Heidsieck is my fave champagne, and at the time I first wrote about Charles Heidsieck, Idris Elba was* my favourite man. Idris has that velvety smooth voice that sounds like the champagne tastes and both the champagne and Idris have a distinctly masculine vibe.

One friend (and her husband who joined the debate when he came to pick her up) fought hard for a George Clooney reference… but I am standing by Idris.

When you try the Charles Heidsieck champagne (I say WHEN, not if) post a pic and tag @bubbleandflute #bubbleandflute #happychamper 

Main image credit – Charles Heidsieck

(*Author’s note, Idris, I apologise for the past tense and saying you were my favourite man. I still love you, but I have a partner now, so you have been relegated to being my second favourite man.)