Average rating 4.9/5 stars across all Google and external reviews
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Bought directly from Liberty Wines Ltd, UK agent for Rare, the bottles are stored in bond at London City Bond Eton Park, in ideal conditions at a constant 13°C. For same-day deliveries, small quantities are kept in our office cellar, where the temperature is maintained between 11–13°C. We source all our bottles directly from the Maison or their official UK office, eliminating the risk of poor storage. This is crucial, as champagne quality is highly sensitive to heat: temperatures above 18°C accelerate maturity significantly, which compromises quality.
Piper-Heidsieck's roots trace back to Florens-Louis Heidsieck, who created the original company of Heidsieck & Co. Christian Heidsieck joined the venture alongside Guillaume Piper and once Florens-Louis died in 1828, the duo decided to continue the adventure side by side, founding Champagne Piper-Heidsieck.
In 2011 both Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck were bought by EPI Group headed by Christopher Descours, he has added significant finance into the companies allowing them to grow their vineyard holdings, grape purchasing and production. The brands are now growing their sales fast after many decades of decline. Today, production occurs alongside sister company Charles Heidsieck in an ultra-modern functional wine-making facility on the southern outskirts of Reims. Their characteristics differ quite considerably, with Piper opting for a fruitier and lighter style of base wines.
Piper-Heidsieck Rare is a truly unique prestige cuvée. In the summer of 1976, an unprecedented heatwave struck France, the likes of which the Champagne region had never experienced before. Piper-Heidsieck's winemaking team began to wonder: could it be possible to create a cuvée given the remarkable conditions? Taming the natural forces was no easy task and when assemblage was complete and the final blend bottled, the team were so proud of the final product, they called it Rare. The brand started as Piper-Heidsieck Rare and in 2019 this became simply Rare. These cuvées are only produced in these exceptional years: 1976, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013 & 2015. In 2018 a new rose cuvee was released with 2007, now followed with 2008 and 2012.
Weather: The 2006 vintage was a year of mixed weather. It began with a rainy spell and late spring, but with little or no frost in the vineyards. Early summer was positive, with the months of June and July creating perfect conditions for flowering. Although there were some storms in late-July, the overall health of the vines was great since the weather remained hot through to the harvest with spells of rain in August promoting even healthier grapes.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Chardonnay: Avize, Oger, Villers-Marmery | Pinot Noir: Verzy
Grape Varieties: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
Ageing: 11 years on the lees
Dosage: 8.5 g/l
Disgorged: December 2018
Drink: Now to 2035+
Tasting Note:This Champagne is crystal-clear in colour, with bright yellow hues. On
the nose, there are aromas of apricot pastries, orange zest and mango, followed by more pronounced notes of vanilla, toast and Oriental spices. The complex bouquet of spices leads to a delicate, long finish. Opulent, rich and intense, Rare 2006 is a testament to this sunny vintage resulting in a Champagne with great concentration.
Watch Essi Avellan MW & Nick's video tasting review of this champagne here.
Piper-Heidsieck's roots trace back to Florens-Louis Heidsieck, who created the original company of Heidsieck & Co to pursue his ambition of “creating a cuvée worthy of a queen”. He fulfilled his dream perhaps earlier than anyone could have expected: once Marie Antoinette had tasted his creation, she became the first Heidsieck & Co ambassador. Florens-Louis’ nephew, Christian Heidsieck joined the venture alongside Guillaume Piper and once Florens-Louis died in 1828, the duo decided to continue the adventure side by side, founding Champagne Piper-Heidsieck.
In 2011 both Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck were bought by EPI Group headed by Chritopher Descours, he has pumped significant finance into the companies allowing them to grow their vineyard holdings, grape purchasing and production. The brands are now growing their sales fast after many decades of decline. Today, production occurs alongside sister company Charles Heidsieck in an ultra-modern functional wine-making facility on the southern outskirts of Reims.
Their characteristics differ quite considerably, with Piper opting for a fruitier and lighter style of base wines. In recent times, the House has shifted from royal accolades to becoming a favourite amongst celebrity stars. Indeed, the legendary Marilyn Monroe famously declared in 1953: “I go to bed with a few drops of Chanel No. 5 and I wake up each morning to a glass of Piper-Heidsieck; it warms me up.”
The prestige cuvée Rare Champagne became its own brand in September 2018. Previously labelled, marketed and sold under the Piper-Heidsieck name, Rare Champagne is now managed and labelled independently. Previous Piper-Heidsieck Cellar Master Régis Camus has subsequently assumed the new role of Cellar Master for Rare Champagne.
Cellar Master: Émilien Boutillat
Winery Location: Reims | Champagne, France
Champagne Region: Montagne de Reims
Annual Production (bottles): 8,000,000
Chef de Cave History at Champagne Rare:
Émilien Boutillat - October 2018 - Current
Emilien studied at the School of Agronomy in Montpellier, focusing on both viticulture and enology. Early in his career he worked in quite a variety of winegrowing regions beyond Champagne: for example in the Rhône, Bordeaux and abroad in New Zealand, California, Chile, South Africa. He first worked for several harvests at houses like Cattier and Armand de Brignac before joining Piper‑Heidsieck in October 2018 as the chef de cave for the House. At the time of his appointment with Piper-Heidsieck in 2018 he was “the youngest chef de caves” at a large Maison in Champagne.
Regis Camus - 2002 to 2022
Regis studied in 1974 and 1975 at the Faculté d’Oenologie in Reims. After obtaining his Oenological Diploma - his first winemaking experience was in 1976 as an intern under Tutor Jacques Peters, who also helped Regis find his first job in champagne. Camus joined Piper-Heidsieck in the 1990s as assistant to Daniel Thibault, after Daniel died in 2002 Regis was promoted to manage all the winemaking team for all three brands; Piper, Rare and Charles. From 2013 Regis focussed his time on Champagne Piper-Heidsieck and Rare and since 2018 has been solely responsible for the prestige cuvée Rare and handing over to his sucessor Emilien. His meticulous winemaking has made him Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the IWC eight times and in 2019 the CSWWC rewarded him of a Life Achievement award. Regis retired in March 2022.
Daniel Thibault - 1990-2002
Daniel came to Charles Heidseick when Joseph Henriot of Champagne Henriot purchased it in 1976. He was chef de cave at Henriot until Joseph brought him across to Charles Heidsieck shortly after buying the Maison. In 1985 Charles-Heidsieck was acquired by Rémy Cointreau from Joseph Henriot and in 1988 Rémy Cointreau also acquired Piper-Heidsieck. When Claude Demiere retired as cellar master of Piper-Heidsieck in 1990 Daniel Thibault took over managing winemaking at both Charles & Piper and at this time he hired Regis Camus as his assistant. Daniel passed away from cancer in 2002.
Claude Demiere - 1970-1990
He spent most of his career in the Piper-Heidsieck cellars, first as a worker in the 1960’s progressing through foreman and appointed chef de cave in 1970 continuing until his retirement in 1990. During his time Claude saw ownership change to Rémy Cointreau in 1985 and during the last five years of his time as cellar master he was required not to make many vintages of Champagne Rare as during this time the parent company also owned Champagne Krug. In 1990 Claude made this year and then no Rare was made until a small amount of 1997 was made, but not declared and it wasn't until 1998 that a full vintage was again made.
Expert Reviews
93 → 95/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Deep golden, evolving colour. Charred, honey toned maturing nose with tropical fruit and oriental spices alongside candied orange and dried apricots notes. Broad on the lusciously textured palate, which offers a soft, fluffy mousse of a warm vintage. Wide open and expressive already, highly pleasurable today. An early bloomer of a vintage.”
97+/100
Jeb Dunnuck
“The flagship release is the 2006 Champagne Rare, a 70/30 split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that’s a cellar selection from 8 different Grand Cru vineyards. Tight, backward, and straight-up structured, it offers brilliant notes of stone fruits, toasted brioche, white flowers, and obvious minerality. Needing plenty of air to show at its best, this beauty has a wonderful mid-palate, a racy mousse, and the balance and class to cruise for over two decades in cool cellars.”
96/100
Alison Napjus
“Aromas and flavours of toasted brioche and grilled nut enrich the yellow plum, nectarine and grated ginger notes of this rich and creamy Champagne. Finely woven and beautifully integrated, with a firm backbone of mouthwatering acidity providing precise balance for the lush range of flavour.”
17+/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“About to launch. Disgorged late 2018. Very sunny year, a bit like 2018. Deep coppery straw. Very powerful nose – and again quite powerful and broad and rich on the palate and then it’s drawn tight on the finish. Bitter orange-peel note. Long. It should age well but it’s already drinkable.”
94/100
William Kelley
“The 2006 Brut Cuvée Rare is a rich, gourmand rendition of this prestige bottling, unfurling in the glass with a complex bouquet that mingles aromas of yellow orchard fruit, pears and fresh pineapple with nuances of buttered toast, iodine and smoke. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and textural, while remaining fresh and surprisingly tight-knit at the core, concluding with a long and saline finish. There's sufficient structural tension here to promise more than a decade's graceful evolution, and although this is nicely balanced, it's a generous, sun kissed rendition of the Cuvée Rare that reflects the warm vintage. The blend is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir.”
93/100
Antonio Galloni
“ Piper-Hiedsieck's 2006 Cuvée Rare is racy and polished to the core. Baked apple tart, apricot, lemon confit, vanillin and brioche infuse the 2006 with striking aromatic intensity and creaminess that builds with time in the glass. Sumptuous and forward, the 2006 offers tons of near and medium-term appeal.”
Last year, Rare Champagne separated from parent brand Piper-Heidsieck, becoming the third champagne house of the burgeoning EPI group. We met veteran chef de cave Régis Camus at the vast premises in Reims earlier this summer to taste some treasures, both old and new.
