10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Charles Heidsieck

© Charles Heidsieck | The house is frequently overlooked by consumers, but the quality is consistently high.

1. Champagne Charlie

Born in 1822, Charles Camille Heidsieck is undoubtedly one of the Champagne region's most celebrated ambassadors. The nephew of Florens-Louis Heidsieck – co-founder of what we today know as Piper-Heidsieck – Charles created the house in 1851, and wasted no time in bringing his product to the attention of connoisseurs in England and Belgium. However, the irrepressible Charles Heidsieck had no intention of leaving it at that.

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2. From Russia with love

During the mid-19th Century, it was commonplace for savvy Champagne houses to target the palates (and wallets) of the Russian aristocracy, their demand for the finest labels seemingly insatiable. Yet Heidsieck, eschewing the approach taken by his competitors, instead traveled to the US in 1852 to introduce Americans to the pleasures of Champagne. His initial tour of New York and New England was a massive success: Manhattan high society loved the flamboyance of this great showman, and soon the US became a key market for his wines. Champagne Charlie, as he was affectionately known, could do no wrong – his adventures were immortalized in a 1989 Canadian Television film, starring Hugh Grant of all people.

3. A slight setback

Unfortunately, the outbreak of The American Civil War in 1861 caused Heidsieck more than a few headaches. Arriving in the US that year, Champagne Charlie found his agent unwilling to settle outstanding accounts, and seemingly no means of retrieving what he was owed. In desperation, he attempted to smuggle some cotton to Europe that was offered as payment from a merchant, but he was caught and arrested in New Orleans in 1862. Despite protestations of innocence, he was imprisoned for spying in Fort Jackson, Louisiana.

Heidsieck was released in the November of that year, a shadow of his former self and now bankrupt. However, the brother of his deceased agent offered Heidsieck some land in Colorado as payment for the unpaid debts in 1863. Gladly exploiting this offer, Heidsieck subsequently sold the land to great profit and restarted his international campaign to promote Charles Heidsieck to the world.

4. Act of Succession

Following Heidsieck's death in 1893, the house went through a succession of different owners, most notably the Henriot family, who purchased Charles Heidsieck in 1976. Joseph Henriot took control of the house until 1985, when the brand was sold to Rémy Cointreau. They in turn sold Charles Heidsieck to French luxury goods group EPI, in 2011. EPI also owns Piper-Heidsieck, both houses are today managed by ex-Veuve Clicquot president, Cécile Bonnefond.

© Charles Heidsieck | "Champagne Charlie" Heidsieck (L) started the house and Cyril Brun is responsible for making the wines today.

5. Daniel Thibaut

No single individual has contributed more to the inimitable quality of Charles Heidsieck than its late cellar master, Daniel Thibaut. Born into a family of growers in Verneuil, Thibaut studied enology at the University of Reims and was offered a job by Joseph Henriot in 1973. When Henriot subsequently acquired Charles Heidsieck, Thibaut was made resident cellar master and stayed on after the brand fell into the hands of the Rémy Cointreau group in 1985.

One of his greatest innovations was introducing the mis en cave concept, whereby the label of the NV Brut Reserve displayed the year that the cuvée was put into the cellar for its second fermentation and aging, as well as when it was disgorged. Sadly, Thibaut died from cancer in 2002, but his remarkable legacy lives on today.

6. In reserve

Daniel Thibaut was also responsible for defining the unusually complex and rich house style of the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, by building up impressive stocks of reserve wines at the expense of sales. Moreover, Thibaut insisted that 40 percent of reserve wines were to be used in each NV cuvée, a phenomenal amount of reserve wine even today, where most NV Champagnes perhaps use 10-12 percent on average. He also insisted on using reserves ranging across at least 7-8 vintages, whereas many houses just incorporate wines from the previous harvest or two.

7. New blood

Thibaut was succeeded by another Champagne superstar, Régis Camus, who today oversees production as director of viticulture and wine for both Piper and Charles Heidsieck. Responsible for winemaking at Charles Heidsieck until 2012, Camus' role was offered to Thierry Roset that year, a longtime employee of the house and former protégé of Thibaut. However, Roset's reign was short-lived, as he died suddenly in 2014.

8. Enter Cyril Brun

Born in Aÿ, Cyril Brun studied in the US and worked in retail before finally undertaking a work placement at Château Haut-Brion. Prior to accepting a position with Heidsieck in 2015, he worked at Veuve Clicquot for 15 years, alongside the legendary Dominique Demarville.

Today, Brun views himself as merely the guardian of a great winemaking legacy, stating that he has no intention of "shaking things up" in the cellar. "For wines of this quality, there were no fundamental improvements to make," says Brun. Ever the modest man, he admits: "I would be happy if in 15 years' time people say that Charles is as good as it ever was."

Nonetheless, he has observed subtle changes to the Charles Heidsieck style over the past five years, believing that: "There is a sensation of freshness and precision that was not as obvious in the past. I used to feel like you could almost get saturated after a few bottles."

© Charles Heidsieck | Charles Heidsieck uses a higher proportion of reserve wines in its blend than most houses.

9. An impeccable range

Charles Heidsieck's present-day superlative quality permeates throughout the entire range, from the Brut Reserve to the vintage Blanc de Millénaires. According to Brun, 40 hectares of vineyards are owned by the house, in shared ownership with Piper-Heidsieck. A venerable selection of Grand Crus goes into the Brut Reserve, which is typically composed of 40 percent Chardonnay, 40 percent Pinot Noir and 20 percent Pinot Meunier. It sees no oak and yet boasts a remarkably rich palate and intoxicating nose of vanilla, dried fruits and pistachios, The NV Rosé, meanwhile, is composed of 36 percent Pinot Noir, 36 percent Chardonnay and 28 percent Pinot Meunier, and is widely considered one of Champagne's best value rosés.

"The winemaking philosophy today is based on two pillars: long maturation and significant amount of reserve wines," explains Brun. "We age our NV wines from six to seven years prior to releasing; in contrast the law stipulates a minimum period of 15 months."

At the top of the hierarchy are the vintage releases (both Brut and Rosé) and the prestige cuvée, Blanc de Millénaires. The 1995 vintage of this sensational Blanc de Blancs was described by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate as: "An exquisite, perfumed, beautifully delineated Champagne, the 1995 shows lovely flavor complexity and nuance from its extended time in bottle, yet it also retains plenty of freshness, verve and acidity."

10. Is anybody listening?

Few Champagne brands attract such universal adulation as Charles Heidsieck. "As anyone who regularly tastes Champagnes blind knows, Charles Heidsieck is second to no other producer when it comes to quality," enthused Tom Stevenson in the December 2013 edition of World of Fine Wine.

Yet, despite this unwavering level of proselytizing from critics, the brand continues to struggle for wider recognition among today's Champagne lovers. According to the latest edition of Christie's World Encyclopaedia of Champagne & Sparkling wine, sales hit rock bottom in 2001, with Stevenson admitting that, even today, distribution remains a problem. So it seems that while the wine quality is spot on, far more work remains to be done in the marketing and promotional arena.

"The Champagnes of Charles Heidsieck are worth a much higher reputation than they actually have," agrees wine buyer Christine Parkinson MW. "I think the sad truth is that with Champagne, brand image has much more power to influence consumers than sheer quality. Charles Heidsieck is simply not as well-known as Krug or Bollinger, and yes, the Heidsieck part of the name can confuse people: it seems a bit 'duty free'."

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