The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's 50 best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Uutiset
Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
THE CHARLES’ WINE represents a world of elegance and indulgence. It is beautifully balanced and captivatingly complex. The quality demands meticulous attention. A fine-tuned dose of unconventional decisions at each step of the champagne production process.
Each wine has its own personality, its own generous tone. The fresh elegance of Chardonnay. The structure of Pinot Noir. The generosity of Meunier. Blending wines of the year with reserve wines is specific to Champagne; the perfect alliance demands exceptional expertise.
Amongst the House treasures, pride of place for the wine-making team lies in an incredible number of wines that have patiently been put aside for reserve. Selected and set aside for their aromatic potential, these wines are destined to play a role in the blending of a Charles Heidsieck champagne. A Brut Réserve cuvée contains a large proportion of reserve wines (40%), representing an average of 10 years of ageing. A blend pledging an unparalleled texture, a signature of the Charles style.
Time represents a 4th varietal for the Charles Heidsieck House.
Wine Information
In 2012, after a chaotic growing season with April frosts, hailstorms and a depressingly wet summer, the champenois’ expectations had been lowered to a minimum when fine August weather came to rescue. The high quality of the minuscule crop year’s base wines cheered up the mood already at blending time, but the vintage still continues to surprise positively as the year’s finest Champagnes reach the markets.
Charles Heidsieck Brut Millésimé 2012 follows the tiny 2008 vintage bottling, which only lasted for about a year on the markets. The financial crisis of 2008 and Charles Heidsieck’s own commercial struggles made the house focus on their upgraded blending for Brut Réserve and bottle almost a nominal amount of 2008. In 2012, when EPI had purchased Charles and Piper-Heidsieck from Remy Cointreau, the new owners had much greater belief in the future of Charles and some 80,000 bottles were blended by the house’s newly appointed chef de cave Thierry Roset.
‘A dangerously drinkable wine’ according to Cyril and I wouldn’t contest that. I gave both of the vintages exactly the same points, 94 with potential for 96, but my personal preference right now nudges slightly towards the 2012 for its superb approachability, pure fruitiness, vibrancy and impeccable balance. The colour is intense with golden tones. The nose is not short of nuances: stunning smoky toastiness and rich biscuit notes are complemented by generosity of fresh and dried fruits ranging from apricots to tropical fruits and zesty lemony layers. It sits between reductive and oxidative styles, leaning safely towards the former. On the palate, the marriage of Charles’ hallmark velvety texture, the invigorating tension and the tiniest bubbles is disarming. Highly creamy and generous but ending on a fresh note of stylish bitterness at the back palate, probably partly due to the drier than usual style, dosed perfectly at 8g/l.
A classic blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay with Grand & Premier Cru sourcing from the Montagne de Reims and Côte de Blancs. The key villages are Aÿ, Oger, Vertus, Chouilly, Ludes and Cuis for Chardonnay and Ambonnay, Tauxieres and Avenay for Pinot Noir.
But perhaps Charles Heidsieck 2012 Brut Millésimé’s greatness is not only due to the virtues of the vintage. As Cyril Brun says, ’winemaking is not just poetry, sometimes there is technique’. And he came to Charles with an armament of research and development experience from his Clicquot times. As one of his first technical innovations, jetting was installed on the disgorging line and conventional corks were switched to technological closures such as MytiK. These procedures have helped in oxygen management and notably improved consistency, not to mention eradicating cork taint issues. The new bottle shape with a narrower neck chosen in 2008 further contributes to the important fight against premature oxidation.
by Essi Avellan MW
Vuosikerta 2012
The next most exceptional vintage since 2008. A truly difficult growing season saw severe frosts in the winter. March brought warmth but early budbreak made the vines vulnerable to spring frosts. Overall, the early growing season was wet, and mildew became a serious issue. However, conditions improved dramatically in the later summer months. An August heatwave resulted in a rapid accumulation of sugar, but fortunately the nights remained cool, which helped to preserve acidity. Although yields were low (averaging at 9,210 kg/ha) due to frost, hail and disease early in the season, the 2012 harvest was exemplary in its maturity, acidity and grape health. A rare high acid, high sugar September harvest with impeccable concentration of flavour and refreshing vibrancy. Pinot Noir is the superstar of the vintage, though Pinot Meunier excelled too. A vintage that promises great longevity for the finest cuvées, it was widely declared by producers. However, Krug decided to invest in its reserve wines on this great year, and no Vintage was produced. The quality of 2012 is universally high, with the greatest releases so far including Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Bollinger La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rosé, as well as Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rosé.
