Charles Heidsieck, Brut Millesime

Freshness, balance, and a little bit of richness from those reserve wines. This is an excellent argument for the NV style.

Beautiful champagne in full maturity. Scented with jasmine and citrus blossom, the mid notes show hay, quince and base notes of apple, bitter orange, brioche, sweet spices, and earth. Good acid balance. Wonderful complexity and although this is fully mature I don’t see it going downhill for years. I tried this in three different glasses. The Darsonville glass again shows the wine at its best, emphasizing the floral top notes into a heady perfume without losing the mid and base. …

1996 vintage

Beautiful champagne in full maturity. Scented with jasmine and citrus blossom, the mid notes show hay, quince and base notes of apple, bitter orange, brioche, sweet spices, and earth. Good acid balance. Wonderful complexity and although this is fully mature I don�t see it going downhill for years. I tried this in three different glasses. The Darsonville glass again shows the wine at its best, emphasizing the floral top notes into a heady perfume without losing the mid and base. …

1996 vintage

Deep gold, mature flavors but good acidity to freshen it. White flowers and almond. The cork was very compressed so this may get not have been the best bottle.

1996 vintage

Darker colour than the 95 BdM alongside. So refreshing.

1996 vintage

My last bottle of 12... what a gloriously mature champagne. Golden yellow, honey, almonds and some white flowers. Loved the acid and the finish.

1996 vintage

Lovely lemon colour. slight lifted toasty nose. surprising level of acid that runs through the middle. Chaulky, mineral fruit driven to a lingering finish. Very very nice wine.

Rich with superb acidity and weight. Mineral driven with toast, and slightly sweet fruit. Very good NV here. A definite rebuy. Drink

Very nice old wood influence, interesting fruit (even a little red), gentle fizz, good balance, buttered toast finish

A lovely golden yellow. This had nuts, honey, some citrus, white flowers and was still very fresh thanks to the zippy acidity. Only one bottle left now...

1996 vintage

Brief impressions from a wine tasting of current release. Solid effort with tart apples and some minerals.

Golden color with a bouquet and flavor typical of very good old Champagne with notes of petrol, dilute balsamic vinegar, and dry toast. Very good definition with excellent balance and a long finish. Evanescent bubbles, expected for a wine of this age. The perfect wine to start a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on a glorious day North of New Orleans in the piney woods of Louisiana. I must complement all of our cooks on the excellent turkey, brazil nut stuffing, creamy …

1996 vintage

Impeccably well stored in great shape old champagne - the formula, short on bubbles, long on complexity. Very much on the pinot noir side, and I thought 1996 a particularly great year for pinot noir champagnes. Eyeopeningly juicy and mouth filling with length I have rarely, almost ever, seen in a champagne, Last bottle. Au revoir.

1996 vintage

Slightly darker colour than the 95 BdM. Much more generous, rich and honeyed.

1996 vintage

Butter, toast, honey, lemon, hint of old wood. Good (highish) acidity. Nice! Defo buy again

NV from the -80s, aromatic and tasty, resin, honey, apricot, not much bubbles, nice.

Once again - honey and nuts with lovelu acidic spine to hold everything together

1996 vintage

A -70s NV, oxidised, no bubbles, toasted flavours, sherry, nuts and honey. Nice despite the age and the fact that this probably should have consumed decades ago.

This screamed honey and nuts. Very fine bubbles, good acidity (present but not overbearing)

1996 vintage

Have had this several time. A really decent champagne. Tasty, with a fine nose. But not as fresh as I had hoped and not worth the price...

1996 vintage

Wow. Best bottle of this i have had. All refinement ad nuttiness. Much love

1996 vintage

Gold color, on the nose I got brown apple, pear, honey with some sourdough/brioche notes as it opened up a bit. On the palette there was a strong nutty/savory note that turned to a heavy green apple/citrus tartness towards the back-end.

1996 vintage

A private tasting (Restaurant De Ertepeller, Papendrecht. NL) : Old bottle, label suggests mid to late 1990's disgorgement. Full yellow, lively appearance; rich and fresh nose, citrus and brioche, lemon curd, hint of white mushroom, holds up perfectly in the glass, hint of honey, juicy and fresh, nice vinosity, very good length. A remarkable survivor.

Singapore Airlines - Business & Lounges; 10/9/2016-10/12/2016 (Sydney, Singapore, Frankfurt) : Hefty sort of nose; lots of yeast character, and chardonnay/white-fruit characters are dominant. It’s medium/-full-bodied; definitely to accompany food. Intense, focussed bubbles certainly become furious in the air. The fundamentally rich – and chardonnay-driven – nature of the wine remain. Hefty finish, something of a bruiser.

Very good, pinot noir-heavy wine. Should last for years

1996 vintage

I should have served this before the Lallier BdeB because in spite a higher dosage (11g/l v. 9g/l) it gave a subjectively dryer impression due to very lively acidity. Lean, well focussed with nice citrus fragrance. Good.

Mid gold. Fairly fine and persistent stream of bubbles. Mature with toasty brioche and hazelnut aromas. Similar on palate. Good depth and a positive finish. Lovely. ****

1996 vintage

Birthday Dinner at Yan's China Bistro with the wine group. Nose of lovely fruit, nice mousse, medium size bubbles, simple, tasty, good acid, medium body, medium finish.

full bodied, dried meats and intense mineral. Mindblowing.

1996 vintage

An amazing nose, good balance. I really liked this.

1996 vintage

Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 1996 Champagne (Langdon Hall - Andrew Little's Rooom (Also known as the Red Room)) : Pretty champagne...nose of asian 5 spice, spiced pork butt, star anise, smoke, white flowers, citrus and minerals. The palate presents pure lemon and lime, minerals, honey, acacia flowers, biscuit and a whiff of lightly roasted coffee. Finish is medium+ and quite complex. Great showing.

1996 vintage

Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 96 Chamapgne (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON) : This is really my style. I think it liked it more than anyone else in the group. Quite a nice rich nose on this wine wafting notes of light roast coffee, honey, sautéed apple, saffron, coriander seed, chamomile tea, brown sugar, chinese five spice, smoked meat and pastry dough. The palate has fairly high acid but it is rounded off and feels …

1996 vintage

Year 3 - Super Tasting 2 of 5 - Andrew does 96 Chamapgne (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON) : This is really my style. I think it liked it more than anyone else in the group. Quite a nice rich nose on this wine wafting notes of light roast coffee, honey, saut�ed apple, saffron, coriander seed, chamomile tea, brown sugar, chinese five spice, smoked meat and pastry dough. The palate has fairly high acid but it is rounded off and feels …

1996 vintage

Second Sunday Group: 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Barb's) : L60224 11710, courtesy of Neil's cold cellar. Light golden yellow color feayuring aromas of marshmallow, toasted walnuts, apple, roasted pear and hints of caramel. Fine bead with hints of melon, apple, vanilla custard, citrus and stone. Long finish. 94-95 pts.

1996 vintage

Only a slight pop, cork small and compact. Feels a little jaded and faded cf previous bottle. Quite a nice rich flavour but lacks verve and complexity. Good, but not great. ***

1996 vintage

Tasted against the 1996 Dom Perignon, this champagne surprised me as clearly superior. It remains austere, not particularly generous, but it has remarkable extract, weight and finish. Still a bit cutrusy. It basically just cut through the Dom. A reminder that it is one thing to evaluate a wine by itself, quite another to evaluate it against for want of a better term, the big boys. I rated the 1988 Krug as my only ever 100 point champagne. This is …

1996 vintage

No formal noes but good as always.

Taking on a deeper color suggesting plenty of pinot noir, however that is not at this point reflected on the palate. Bubbles diminish relatively quickly. Nutty notes creeping into the nose but citrus notes remain. Really impressive length remains but it is dryer, less generous than I recall. I'm thinking a champagne that has many years ahead and will always show well, but just maybe it was more impressively overwhelming when young. 24 hours in remains in fine shape. The …

1996 vintage

Nothing beats this, even the finest Krug or Cristal will be seriously challenged. An explosion of flavours with superior length, complexity and freshness. Intensely mineral. Drinking well now but will hold for many decades.

1996 vintage

less fruit than previous bottles, but improved greatly with air

1996 vintage

Lekkere frisse champagne

1998 Non-vintage Champagne Tasting (Lafayette, Ca.) : Small amount of tiny bubbles, very simple taste, touch of yeast, mouth coating fruit, medium/long finish with touch of yeast and acid. My #4 of 7, Group #1.

!997 Birthday Dinner (Walnut Creek, Ca.) : Very few but fine, tiny bubbles in the glass, rich color, lovely wood and yeast on the nose, lovely, yeasty, simple taste, cool tasting, very rich and creamy, lovely, long creamy taste with a hint of cardboard, long finish. My #2 of 7.

Champagne and Yquem Holiday Preview (Lafayette, Ca.) : This has richer fruit on the nose than most tasted tonight, lots of bubbles, great color in the glass, nice, rich, tasty Champagne, good acid, nice, tasty wine, nice finish. My #2, Group #1.

7 Inexpensive Champagnes (Lafayette, Ca.) : Lovely, rich, yeasty nose with brioche, lovely body, big body, good rich taste tonight, long finish. My #1, Group #1.

Annual Non Vintage Champagne Tasting. Started with a great, rich, toasty, fruity nose which promised more than it delivered on the palate and finish. Not a bad champagne. My #3 and Group #1, retail $24.97.

Blind Tasting of 6 Champagnes. Very bubbly, light oak nose, very stylish and rich in the mouth, medium/long finish My #4 of 6.

Are you sure?

Charles Heidsieck, Brut Millesime

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews