Rare Champagne (Piper-Heidsieck)

2 notes

A Queen for an Excuse

Rare Champagne Millésime 1988 (Piper-Heidsieck) · Champagne, France · tasted 12 August 2026

Piper-Heidsieck's Rare is declared only in the years the house thinks deserve the name. At thirty-eight, the 1988 was still standing on its acidity — deep gold, nuts and cinnamon, apple and honey trailing into salt.

A Tiara in a Warm Year

Rare Champagne Millésime 2002 (Piper-Heidsieck) · Champagne, France · tasted 13 July 2021

Piper-Heidsieck declares Rare only in the years it thinks deserve the name, and 2002 — a warm, dry, concentrated vintage — was an obvious one. At nineteen, with Chardonnay leading the blend, it was still bright at the core and only beginning to turn golden.