2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare- France, Champagne (4/25/2015)
A tremendous Champagne - this knocked my socks off. It had such a lovely deep nose, full of white fruit, with white chocolate and bread and yeast and a tiny hint of oxidative white meat notes, all topped-off with a little spice and mineral and a subtle nutty hint. The palate was, in every way, complete. There was a nice creamy depth to the wine, but this was wed to a laser-like precision, with lively acidity and mouthfilling stream of super-fine mousse lending it a great sense of clarity and focus, with lovely clean notes of white fruit - apples and pears - chased by juicy citrus nuances, all filling the mouth with lovely bright flavours. This was a study in contrasts: superb depth wed to wonderful transperancy, all very complete, compact, and wonderfully integrated. A long, powerful finish then brought the wine to a delightful end, with a rapier-like thrust of white fruit and citrus zest flecked by little suggestions of minerality. A superb Champange with tons packed into this. Yet, unlike so many 2002s, this needs years to unfurl. I would love to try it again in say 2020-2025. (94 pts.)
I’ve been wondering if this would be any good. I have a couple sitting in one of my fridges and was wondering when to pop them. I guess I shall have to pop one open soon!
I also 110% agree that the bottle has unnecessary bling. No need for it, I would trade in the bling for another $10-20 off the price of the bottle.
Couldn’t agree more, tacky bottle. I have several but haven’t popped one open yet. Thanks for the note Paul, sounds like I need to put one in the lineup.
Tremendously ugly bottle. So much so that I was actually not expecting much when my friend pulled it out. One sniff and one sip though and I was blown over. They really should do something with the packaging.
