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: Overall, the 2012 vintage was unpredictable. Spring saw some frost, torrential rain, and hailstorms. During flowering, temperatures were cooler than average. However, the weather improved considerably towards the end of summer, which allowed the grapes to ripen beautifully. The grapes were harvested at optimum ripeness and concentration.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: Chardonnay: Villers-Marmery, Vertus, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Chouilly and Avize | Pinot Noir: Verzy, Aÿ, Verzenay, Ambonnay, Ville-Dommange, and Les Riceys (for the red wine)
Grape Varieties: 60% Chardonnay & 40% Pinot Noir
Red Wine: 8% blended from Les Riceys
Lees Ageing: 8 years
Dosage: 7 g/l
Disgorged: September 2021
Cork: Traditional two disk
Drink: Now to 2045
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
95/100
Tom Hewson
“70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir. This has quite a different makeup from the 2008, taking in more villages and just 8% red wine addition from Les Riceys. Together with 2012's more open stance, the end result is a rosé with a little more soft-focus, supple character, sweet-natured with fine nectarine and pink grapefruit and fragrant with raspberry macaroon. There's plenty of zesty focus and some nuance – pepper and subtle marine notes – but a surprising delicacy too. Tender and succulent.”
96/100
Alison Napjus
“Offers aromas and flavours of ripe raspberry and nectarine, brioche and chopped almond, mandarin orange and ground coffee, graphite, star anise and verbena, which are a gorgeous panoply of expression from the fragrant nose through to the finely detailed finish. This vibrant rosé Champagne is well-honed and mouth-watering, wrapping the chiselled frame in a plushly creamy mousse.”
95/100
Kristaps Karklins
“The 2012 Rare Rosé Millésime, disgorged in December 2021 with a dosage of seven grams per liter, has developed gracefully. It opens with aromas of candied orange, apricot, cranberry and iris, mingling with buttered toast and a hint of smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied, elegantly muscular and beautifully balanced, with a crisp fruit core, ripe yet racy acidity and a pillowy mousse, concluding with a long, sapid and delicately perfumed finish. Incorporating 8% red wine from Les Riceys, it is more complete and harmonious than the 2014 and is really just quite starting to show its cards.”
97/100
James Suckling
“Pale salmon-copper color with aromas of raspberries, fresh and dried cherries, rose-water, grapefruit, salted almonds, cloves and white pepper. Silky and vibrant, with very fine bubbles and bright acidity. Beautiful combination of fresh fruit and subtle spice. Lingering, salted yellow-plum notes on the long, elegant finish. Dry.”
18.5+/20
Nick Baker TFB Founder
“The classic pale pink colour, but there is no lack of dark and red fruits; it’s the chardonnay that comes through most with those yellow fruits like charred pineapple and rich lemon with hints of creamy brioche supported by dark cherry and a spicy edge. The texture is soft from lees ageing, yet bright and zingy from classic 2012 acidity finishing with a strong saline zippy end. After 5 minutes the champagne really opens up and some rich papaya notes add to the rich fruits. This 3rd vintage of Rare Rose is showing subtle evolution with each release and this is a smidge better than the 2008.”
96/100
Anne Krebiehl MW
“The nose opens with notes of toast with blood orange overtones and something subtly meaty reminiscent of Parma ham. More air brings out much more orange notes, almost as of orange sherbet sweets. The palate packs a lovely punch, there is concentration and a lovely phenolic backbone, all is enhanced by vivid, fine mousse. Texture is key here and is felt all along the intensely salty umami finish.”
94/100
Yuri Shima
“Rare rose was born with the 2007 vintage, and four vintages have been released so far. Rich and toasty in general, it varies in style depending on the vintage. The 2012 is pink in colour, with a slight coppery edge. It is fuller bodied with opulent plum, cherry and tropical passion fruit, as well as salted almonds, spice and a hint of roasted coffee.”
