Charles Heidsieck, Champagne (France) “Réserve” Brut NV

($69, Folio Fine Wine Partners):  This is a fabulously complex and elegant Champagne. Yes, it’s pricey for a non-vintage Champagne, but I think it’s worth it.  The website says that their non-vintage wine is an equal blend of all three varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, that has been aged on the lees for three years.  The back label explains that reserve wines, the average age of which is 10 years, comprise 40 percent of the blend.  That fact alone helps explain why it is so grand a Champagne.  And, believe me, it is grand.  Both suave and powerful, it has an almost never-ending finish.  For all its intensity, it’s incredibly elegant.
95 Michael Apstein Mar 31, 2020