| Winery Location: | Reims |
| Year Established: | 1851 |
Vineyard Holdings
60 ha
Top Wines Produced
- Champagne Charlie (No longer produced)
- Blancs de Millénaires
- Brut Réserve
- Rosé Réserve
- Brut Millésime
- Rosé Millésime
Inaugural Vintages
- Blancs de Millénaires, 1983
- Champagne Charlie was produced between 1979 and 1985
Average Total Production
- 3,480,000 bottles
Summary
This Champagne house was founded by Charles Camille Heidsieck and Ernest Henriot. Heidsick, a shrewd salesman, saw the potential in the American market, and took his first sales trip to the states in 1852. Charles became a favorite of New York high-society on his visits, and he picked up the nickname „Champagne Charlie.“ He was arrested by the Union army in 1861 upon suspicions that he was transporting communications between the French and the Confederates and spent four months in a Louisiana prison. The firm however continued to grow and expand into more markets. In 1976 the firm was purchased by Henriot only to be sold again in 1985 to Rémy Martin. It was at this time that Daniel Thibault took over as Chef de Cave, who was credited for creating the mis en cave practice of putting a bottling date on the Brut Réserve non-vintage. Thibault also oversaw the creation of the Blanc de Millénaires, the prestige cuvée that replaced Champagne Charlie.Today the Chef de Cave is Thierry Roset, who worked with both Thibault and former Chef de Cave Régis Camus. Charles Heidsieck was sold to Societe Europeanne de Participations Industrielles (EPI) in 2011.
Style & Vinification Techniques
There is no oak used in the cellars of Charles Heidsieck. For the Brut Réserve the blend is equal parts Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay. They use 40% reserve wines that have an average age of ten years. The Brut Réserve ages for three years on its lees, same holds true for the Rosé. The Millésime is 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay, and ages for ten years on its lees before release. The Blancs de Millénaires is 100% Chardonnay, from four Grand Crus and one Premier Cru in the Côte de Blancs, and ages for fifteen years on its lees.