Piper-Heidsieck Brand Overview
Champagne Piper-Heidsieck began with Florens-Louis Heidsieck, who created the original company of Heidsieck & Co in 1785. Originally his idea was to “create a cuvée worthy of a queen” and once Marie Antoinette had tasted his creation his dream was realised, as she became the first Heidsieck & Co ambassador. In 1815, Florens-Louis’ nephew, Christian Heidsieck joined the company alongside Henri-Guillaume Piper and upon Florens-Louis’ death in 1828, the duo decided to continue the adventure side by side, forming Champagne Piper-Heidsieck.
The House went from strength to strength during the 1800s, according the privilege of royal warrant holder from no less than fourteen royal and imperial courts, some as far afield as China. A milestone was reached in 1885 and to celebrate Piper-Heidsieck’s centennial, Pierre Karl Fabergé - star jeweller of Russian Tsar Alexander III - designed a bottle adorned with gold, diamonds and lapis lazuli. This marked the beginning of a partnership between the House and the world’s greatest jewellers and the ornate design is still seen on bottles of Piper-Heidsieck’s prestige cuvée Rare today.
This success continued throughout the 20th Century, which saw Piper-Heidsieck become Hollywood’s champagne of choice. 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.”
Today, the winemaking team is led by Cellar Master Régis Camus, who has been with the House since 1994. The signature of Piper-Heidsieck champagne has always been their preference for Pinot Noir, accounting for the balanced, structured and powerful style for which their blends are famed. Their prestige cuvée, Rare, was first produced in 1976 when an unprecedented heat wave struck the region. Following the philosophy that an extraordinary event should produce an extraordinary cuvée, Rare vintages are only declared in years “where Nature unleashes its forces”.
Always striving for innovation and progression, Piper-Heidsieck opened their impressive modern winery with over 200 stainless steel wine vats in 1995 and their newly designed contemporary headquarters were revealed in 2008.
