As of July 1, two leading Champagne houses changed ownership. Charles Heidsieck and Piper Heidsieck, two of Champagne’s most well-known houses, became property of the Descours family (through their holding company, Societe Europeenne de Participations Industrielles [EPI]), who purchased them from Rémy-Cointreau for what Decanter reported as 400 million euros. The Descours family, one of France’s wealthiest, also owns Château La Verrerie in the Côtes du Luberon, Bonpoint, the upscale baby clothing store, and Alain Figaret, a high-end men’s clothing store.
“Nothing will change,” according to Christian Holthausen, International House Communications Director for the two houses. The talented Régis Camus, who has been with the two houses since 1994, and winemaker since 2002, will remain as winemaker at both.
With three Champagne houses containing the name Heidsieck (Heidsieck & Co. Monopole is the third), there is potential for confusion among consumers. Indeed, Holthausen refers to them solely as Piper and Charles for clarity.
The three companies had a common origin but are now separate. The original Heidsieck Champagne house was founded in 1785 by Florens-Louis Heidsieck, a German immigrant. In the early 19th century, Christian Heidsieck, Florens-Louis’s nephew, assumed control and was joined by Henry-Guillaume Piper. Customers soon started asking for Piper’s Heidsieck. When Christian died, Piper married his widow solidifying what started as a business relationship and the name Piper-Heidsieck was born.
Charles-Camille Heidsieck, another relative of Florens-Louis, founded Charles Heidsieck in 1851. He became one of the few Champagne producers to visit America, where he immediately earned the nickname, Champagne Charlie, a moniker used from 1979 to 1985 for its prestige cuvée.
Rémy Cointreau acquired Charles Heidsieck in 1985 and Piper Heidsieck in 1988.
In the 19th century Henri Waldbaum, yet another of Florens-Louis Heidsieck’s relatives, founded Heidsieck Monopole, which is now owned by Vranken Pommery Monopole.
The vast majority, about 85%, of Piper’s 6-million bottle annual production is non-vintage. (Moët & Chandon is the largest Champagne producer with about a 25 to 30-million bottle annual production). Not to be overlooked, however, is Piper’s vintage Champagne, especially the 2004 (92 points), which is fresh and creamy with elegance and great length. Their top of the line or prestige cuvée bottling, called Rare, a blend of roughly two-thirds Chardonnay and one-third Pinot Noir, debuted with the 1976 vintage. It has been produced in only 8 vintages, 1976, 79, 85, 88, 90, 98, 99, and the current release, 2002. With a tiny production of only about 20 to 30,000 bottles annually, it is rare, but worth the search required to find this extraordinary wine. The 1988, tasted recently, was stunning–powerful mature, yet fresh with abundant exotic spices enlivening the almond-tinged mature notes (95 points).
Charles Heidsieck is a much smaller house, producing about 800,000 bottles annually. Its quality soared during the 20-plus years of Rémy Cointreau’s ownership, but the price still does not reflect that. Their non-vintage Brut Reserve remains a good value. The average price on wine-searcher.com was $45, but multiple retail shops from coast to coast were selling it for less than $35. (Changes in ownership frequently results in changes in distribution and wide differences in prices).
Although Charles Heidsieck is known for its large proportion of Pinot Noir in the blend, their Blanc des Millénaires, which replaced Champagne Charlie as their prestige bottling, is 100 percent Chardonnay. The wine comes from four Grand Cru villages in the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger) and one Premier Cru village, Vertus. Camus doesn’t subscribe to the uniform superiority of Grand Cru villages because, as he puts it, “The wine from Vertus can make your heart sing.” Produced only four times so far, 1983, 1985, 1990 and the current release, 1995, it spends 10 years on the lees. The 1995 Blanc des Millénaires, tasted recently (97 points), is a sensational wine, replete with creamy elegance, power and persistence. It was voted Best of Show two years in row, 2005 and 2006, at the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition.
These are excellent Champagne houses that represent two different styles. Piper is lacy and delicate, while Charles is more powerful. Both are classy and graceful.
I hope that Holthausen is correct–that nothing changes.
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