TN: 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare (France, Champagne)

WINE TALK
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  • 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare - France, Champagne (9/5/2022)
    From a Grassl Liberte, notes after 2 hours open.
    Truly golden in color with a very fine and persistent mousse.
    Profound aromas of old baseball glove, mango and banana skin, caramelized flan, and coffee.
    Luxurious and creamy, bountiful flavors and mature character. Delicious even at room temp. The interplay of sweet and dry/tart is magnificent.
    5+14+19+9= 97 (97 points)
    a7b7e647-9d0f-4211-b517-519ba037e8da.jpg253×526 32.3 KB

Posted from CellarTracker

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Nice note. Great value. Think these were around $120 on WTSO at one point. Normally hate the bottle flare but this one is kind of cool.

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Great note. Was lucky to have some from a friend’s bottle a few weeks back. Concur with your take here. Great stuff.

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Yup, I got several at $120 (I think at least some of that was via Envoyer, but my records on source are not great), and have two left. Definitely has been a consistent favorite.

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I love the Rare bottling. Great champagne and I don’t mind the bottle design at all.

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I had the 02 Rare on Friday night as well. There was quite a bit of stock a few years ago in the Texas market that went for $125 or so and it seems like many folks are starting to pull them.

The OPs bottle sounds lovely, showing a bit of tertiary development (flan, coffee). My data point here is that 4 bottles over the last 2 years have consistently not exhibited much maturity and instead come across as rich, creamy, with brioche, lemon curd and some vanilla cake notes; but are a long way from peak. To me, this is a long-lived champagne that is right down the center of the fairway - with near universal appeal, but not too eccentric a personality.

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Thanks for the note Bob. I have had good luck with this bottling. Have one more left but would gladly pick up additional bottles if it became available at a good price.