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.
Bottles Available:
12 × 1.5L from 16th Oct We keep some stock in our London Warehouse. Large volumes take 24 hours from our out of London warehouse.
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: A mild, rainy winter, followed by an unpredictable and dreary spring, with a month of June marked by an abrupt drop in temperature and continuing most of the summer until the 15 August. And then, a miracle of nature: the ominous and extremely rainy weather changed radically to become sunny and dry with warm days and cold nights, lasting throughout the harvest in mid-September.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: Chardonnay: Avize, Vertus, Villers-Marmery | Pinot Noir: Ambonnay, Aÿ
Grape Varieties: 60% Chardonnay & 40% Pinot Noir
Red wine: 13% blended from Bouzy
Lees Ageing: 9 years
Dosage: 8.5 g/l
Disgorged: June 2018
Cork: Mytik Diam Technological
Drink: Now to 2035
Tasting Note:The nose is full of fresh red and black fruits and hints of cherry, the palate has great texture, bundles of fruit like passion fruits and bold red currants and black cherry. A complex Rose with plenty of texture and power and a light and delicate end with hint of salinity. Will age for 20+ years.
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
96/100
Kristaps Karklins
“Incorporating 13% red wine from Bouzy, the 2008 Rare Rosé Millésime—disgorged in July 2018 with a dosage of eight grams per liter—has evolved superbly. It opens with a deep bouquet of red cherry, cranberry and passion fruit, mingling with buttered toast and a hint of rosemary, framed by a deft touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied and elegantly muscular, with excellent concentration underpinned by bright acidity, concluding with a long, toasty finish. Already compelling upon release, it has since gained in depth, standing alongside the 2012 as one of the two most complete and harmonious expressions of Rare Rosé to date.”
18/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“Lot code: L1990198098. Blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir (including the 13% still red added for colour). A blend of 13 crus (including Chardonnay from Villers-Marmery, Vertus and Montgueux and Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Verzy). Fermented in tank with full malo. Aged for nine years on the lees and a further two years after the disgorgement in July 2018 with dosage 8 g/l. Another extraordinary bottle tasted immediately after the Belle Epoque 2012. (I wonder how long we will go on explaining how Rare was spun out of Piper Heidsieck with Régis Camus in charge?) Very bright, pale flame-orange – if that makes sense. Very exciting nose with layers of coconut (if Camus is not insulted by that), broad and rich initially but very lively, bright-fruited finish. Super-clean, refreshing but layered. Really pretty spiffy! Grown-up wine with a dry finish. Thundering, multi-layered finish. This is a wine that commands attention. Though it is a crazy price. Drink 2019 – 2028”
97 → 98/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Elegant peachy colour. There is vanilla, light toastiness and roasted coffee complexity on the sweet berry nose of cherry, raspberry and blood orange. The pure and cool fruitiness impresses on the vibrant and structured palate. The characterful red fruitiness continues until the long mineral finish that has an attractive touch of ripe tannin to it. Still youthful but so fine and more and more expressive. ”
97/100
Peter Moser
“Medium salmon pink, fine copper reflections; delicate mousse lingers very well. Nuances of fine biscuit, hints of wild berry jam, red and also black berries, a touch of liquorice, floral scents. Juicy on the palate with notes of ripe cherries and yellow apple from the high Chardonnay proportion, firm structure, pleasantly dry finish with a lemony-salty echo. A multi-faceted food wine with further development potential.”
95+/100
William Kelley
“The 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Rare is the second rendition of this cuvée ever produced, and the wine is showing very well, unwinding in the glass with a youthfully shy nose featuring white cherries, blood orange, Meyer lemon, honeysuckle and dried white flowers that offers the promise of considerable complexity to come. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, racy and tight-knit, with good concentration, beautifully integrated acids and a fine mousse, concluding with a long, saline and delicately phenolic finish. This is really quite reserved after its recent disgorgement but should develop beautifully with a few years on cork.”
97/100
Peter Moser
“Medium salmon pink, fine copper reflections; delicate mousse lingers very well. Nuances of fine biscuit, hints of wild berry jam, red and also black berries, a touch of liquorice, floral scents. Juicy on the palate with notes of ripe cherries and yellow apple from the high Chardonnay proportion, firm structure, pleasantly dry finish with a lemony-salty echo. A multi-faceted food wine with further development potential.”
93/100
Yuri Shima
“Medium pink/copper colour. The nose has orange blossom and impressively dense fruit of pink grapefruit, peach and nectarine, raspberry, plum and lychee, with caffe mocha and caramalised nut nuances. It is rich and intense on the palate, structured with focused acidity.”
