2014 Champagne Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires, Blanc de Blancs, Brut

The 2014 Brut Blanc de Millénaires, picked in Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Vertus, spent eight years on lees. Subtle smoke, singed lemon peel and chalk on the nose lead to a palate that is bright and luminously fresh but totally harmonious and juicy. Vivid foam bubbles up with chalky insinuations and mere touches of saltiness in this surprisingly rounded wine. Perhaps less dosage might have been wiser to bring out its essential cut. Lovely now, sure to blossom and evolve. Dosage is 9 grams per liter. (Lot L24023-3139) - Anne Krebiehl MW

The 2014 Champagne Blanc Des Millenaires is a blend sourced from the five villages of Avize, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Cramant, and Vertus. It has fantastic salinity, with a refined pinpoint mousse, and is medium-bodied. Although it does not lack for concentration, it’s perfumed and floral, with notes of shortbread, fresh pastry, and vanilla. It’s a fabulous and enticing vintage with lots of clarity and focus. Mouthwatering and structured this is a class act that should have no problem aging another three or more decades.

Complex biscuity, yeasty undertones to this blanc de blancs, along with crushed almonds, pears and apples. It’s fresh and beautifully integrated on the palate with silky and elegant layers, fine bubbles and attractive, lingering pastry character. Drink now or hold.

A compacted, dense blanc de blancs with real intensity, showing tarte tatin and sliced white peaches. Full-bodied. A lovely combination of dried apples, pie crust and underlying acidity. Some subtle brioche. Hints of cream and salted butter. From the villages of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Vertus, Cramant and Avize. 8.5 years on the lees. Dosage 9 g/L. Disgorged 2023. Drink now.

Chardonnay from the crus of Mesnil-sur-Oger, Avize, Oger, Cramant, Vertus. Nine years on the lees, disgorged 2023. Only the 8th time this wine has been made in over 40 years. Dosage 9 g/l.

Masses of very fine bubbles on first pouring. Inviting, almost ethereal chalky citrus aroma. Masses of mouth-watering tension and freshness, with great precision. Tightly wound but not lean because it is so well balanced. Pure, chalky, crisp and very long. Elegant, gently complex, with only subtle creamy/yeasty autolytic character. The crisp citrus fruit still dominates after all this time on the lees, though the lees ageing shows in the rich texture.

Drink 2024 - 2032 

Sourced from Vertus, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Avize and Cramant, the 2014 Blanc de Blancs Blanc des Millénaires—only the eighth release of this cuvée—was disgorged in 2023 with a dosage of 10 grams per liter. Unfurling with aromas of candied lemon zest, ripe pear, fresh hazelnut and peach, accented by a delicate roasted nuance, it is medium- to full-bodied, elegantly muscular and textural, with a rich fruit core, ripe yet lively acidity and ample chalky extract—more pronounced than in the 2007 rendition. Combining amplitude with freshness, it has turned out beautifully, though true complexity will demand several more years in the cellar.

2014 Blanc des Millénaires is only the 8th vintage of this wine released since the inaugural wine in 1983. Let’s not beat around the bush – it is a spectacular Champagne... This is a raspingly refreshing wine. It is so precision-cut you might want to wear gloves. There is no doubt this unnervingly keen creation is not one for beginners. And if you feel a tear fighting to set free from a loose duct, just let it go. This wine is all about emotion and you must be leaden-hearted for it not to move you profoundly with its laser-sighted flavours and extraordinary tension. Flavour-wise it is incredible how so much direction and decisiveness can emerge from such a seemingly demure wine. Approaching its tenth birthday, and with eight of these years spent on its lees, it seems like this wine has been chiselled out of a gleamingly white chalk sarcophagus as it sits naked in the glass, and there is so much potential here it takes the breath away... This is a landmark vintage for Heidsieck’s incredible Chardonnay and while it is straight-jacketed, brutally honest, and epically long, there are just enough white florals, tender sablé tones and dramatic citrus zestiness, to signal that this wine will be nothing short of era-defining given time.

More restrained than the Comtes de Champagne 2013 tasted before, with a steelier, chalkier style and sharper acidity as well. Long finish with powerful apple fruit. Still youthful.