Charles Heidsieck’s brut réserve is 40 percent Chardonnay, 40 percent Pinot noir, and 20 percent Meunier from 60 crus. Forty percent of the cuvée is reserve wine. The wine was laid down in 2016 and disgorged in 2019.
Its color is gold with an active bead, very festive. Slightly reductive at first, with a bit of air it begins to offer a fragrance of ginger, brioche, dried lemon peel, and something like fresh tarragon. The body is active, the scrubbing mousse carrying flavors of almond extract and candied lemon, with, again, that sense of tarragon — almost a licorice herbaceousness. There is citrusy fruit and some lime juice at the finish.
This is a cleansing, linear wine suited to the fresh, young, and (sometimes) raw: oysters, salads, fish, poached poultry, light pilafs. Good for goat cheeses and other fresh or bloomy cheeses, too.
NV Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve Champagne
12% ABV | About $50 (sample); imported by Folio Fine Wine
