Winemaker Notes
A luminous golden color with lively bubbles. A discreet nose that opens up with notes of cocoa, roasted coffee, brioche, quince and roasted pineapple. On swirling, aromas of yellow fruit come to the fore: peach and apricot, as do the delicious flavors of blackberry jelly. Round and generous on the palate, with a full attack. From the very first sip, the juicy fruit aromas build in strength. The finish is tangy, with a gentle bitterness of cocoa and licorice.
Blend: 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very polished. Medium-bodied with lovely, sophisticated yet subtle flavors of dried apricots, grapefruit and peaches. Finely structured with creamy bubbles that give tension and focus. Touch of salt. Long and satisfying. A blend of 55% pinot noir and 45% chardonnay. Dosage 8 g/L.
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Wine Spectator
A toasty Champagne, with a rich range of baked cassis, cherry, brioche, vanilla, saffron and spun honey aromas and flavors buoyed and balanced by vivid, lemony acidity. Shows depth and length, with the profile expanding on the finely detailed, vivacious mousse and echoing on the persistent, focused finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged April 2024. Drink now through 2045.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Émilien Erard’s first vintage working at Heidsieck, the 2018 Champagne Millesime Brut has a shimmering yellow hue, while the nose reveals notes of ripe peaches, with a fleshy stone fruit character that is characteristic of the house. Disgorged in 2024, this 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay blend, with no oak, was aged entirely in stainless steel tanks. They were aiming to preserve the freshness of this vintage to enhance its aging potential. The mousse is frothy and floral, expressive and open in this vintage. Drink 2026-2050.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In the context of so extreme a vintage, Charles Heidsieck’s 2018 Brut Millésimé is a wine of considerable success. Disgorged in May 2024 with a dosage of eight grams per liter, it soars from the glass with aromas of pomelo, pear and lemon confit, mingling with brioche and jasmine, framed by a deft touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied and enveloping, with a fleshy and charming fruit core, enlivened by ripe but vibrant acidity and a pillowy mousse, concluding with a toasty, saline-tinged finish. Flamboyant and immediately seductive, it promises a broad window of enjoyment. The blend consists of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay.
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Decanter
Charles Heidsieck's 2018 is an unusual assemblage which successfully finds some focus and energy in this generous, sometimes slightly diffuse ripe vintage. Alongside plenty of juicy stone fruit Pinot Noir and sweet, sunny tangerine there's an appealing snap of bittersweet grapefruit Chardonnay, a large part of which unusually hails from sandy Trigny just north of Reims. The stylish toasty nougat richness, set against the clean-cut precision and easy approachability of the house, is certainly on show, and both 2018s present fine mid-term drinking.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’