Really fine bubbles. Extremely intense, showing dried apples, peaches and light apricots with brioche and pie crust. Medium-bodied with a creamy texture and a long, long finish. Very subtle. A blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. 10% of the 2020 base wine fermented and aged in barrel. Dosage 8 g/L. Drink now.

Even the nonvintage cuvée from this top producer has bottle age, so the yeasty edge and touches of almonds balance with the Champagne's acidity and fruitiness of white fruits and citrus flavors. This fine poised wine is ready to drink. ROGER VOSS

Even in the tricky 2017 vintage, Charles Heidsieck turns out an impeccable NV. The reserves form a serious, appetising core of dried apricot and sourdough around which zesty citrus, raspberry and bitter almond offer brightness and energy. Impressive detail and length. 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% Meunier, based on the 2017 vintage with 50% reserve wines up to 20 years of age, with 9% barrel-fermented wines.

The 2019 base was disgorged in 2024, and the NV Champagne Reserve Brut, with the oldest wine in the blend, is around 20 years old, while the heart of the blend averages ten years of age. It pours a golden yellow color and offers a signature style with a frothy mousse, brioche, almond skin, apricot, and preserved citrus. Medium to full-bodied, it expands on the palate, with a rounded mouthfeel and a chalky richness of texture. Drink 2025-2035.

This is the same iteration of Charles Heidsieck “Brut Réserve” that I reported on a year ago, with the wine hailing from the base year of 2016 and having been disgorged in 2020. It has opened up nicely since that time, with the bouquet now delivering scents of apple, peach, chalky soil tones, fresh-baked bread, just a touch of buttery oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, crisp and complex, with a good core, lovely soil undertow, zesty acids, refined mousse and fine length and grip on the well balanced finish. This bottling always includes forty percent reserve wines in the blend. Good juice.

Based on the 2019 vintage and enriched by 50% reserve wines—stored in steel tanks and incorporating some 100 individual wines, averaging a decade in age—Charles Heidsieck’s NV Brut Réserve opens with aromas of candied lemon peel, ripe pear and pineapple mingling with buttered toast and a hint of burnt sugar. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, charming and textural, with a sweet and fleshy fruit core, succulent yet vibrant acidity and a persistent, toasty finish. Disgorged in 2024 with a dosage of nine grams per liter, after nearly four years aging sur lattes, it represents another strong rendition of this reliable cuvée. - Kristaps Karklins

Charles Heidsieck’s signature cuvée, the Brut Réserve NV, is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay largely Grand and Premier Cru fruit, with 20% of Pinot Meunier. The “signature” element is the high percentage of reserve wines in this non-vintage cuvée; 52% is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reserve wines that range from 12 to 23 years old, and the 48% balance is from the 2018 base vintage fermented in stainless steel, with 8-9% fermented in barrel. It is aged for 4 years and has a nine gram per liter dosage. A lovely, light golden color, it opens with notes of crème brulé and light toast that accent underlying lemon cream and white peach aromas. The light to medium-bodied palate is textured and supple with a fresh, lemony acid line spun around a rich core of honeyed stone fruit. The reserve wines lend complexity and discrete power to the long, refreshing finish. A sophisticated NV cuvée throughout. Disgorged in 2023. - Sarah Mayo

Charles Heidsieck’s signature cuvée, the Brut Réserve NV, is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay largely Grand and Premier Cru fruit, with 20% of Pinot Meunier. The “signature” element is the high percentage of reserve wines in this non-vintage cuvée; 52% is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reserve wines that range from 12 to 23 years old, and the 48% balance is from the 2018 base vintage fermented in stainless steel, with 8-9% fermented in barrel. It is aged for 4 years and has a nine gram per liter dosage. A lovely, light golden color, it opens with notes of crème brulé and light toast that accent underlying lemon cream and white peach aromas. The light to medium-bodied palate is textured and supple with a fresh, lemony acid line spun around a rich core of honeyed stone fruit. The reserve wines lend complexity and discrete power to the long, refreshing finish. A sophisticated NV cuvée throughout.

Hints of brioche and lemon meringue pie enrich the flavors of cassis and apricot fruit, pickled ginger, smoke and roasted hazelnut in this classy Champagne, backed by vibrant acidity. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged 2024. Drink now through 2030. - AN