The “virtuous” Piper-Heidsieck Vintage 2008

On February 26th there was a very special evening for the Champagne of Maison Piper Heidsieck because it was used for the official toasts at the 89th edition of the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This was the third year for the partnership between the Reims Maison and the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences and for the occasion Piper-Heidsieck created a special, limited edition magnum for the Governor’s Ball, the Oscars after-party attended by all the Hollywood celebrities.

For Piper-Heidsieck this return to the limelight on the international scene represented an authentic winemaking comeback and saw its historic chef des caves Régis Camus working with a very talented enologist, Séverine Freson-Gomez, who since 2001 has been following the Maison’s blends. Since 2012 she has been the head enologist not only for Piper-Heidsieck but also at its nearby ‘cousin’ Maison Charles Heidsieck and she appears to be the designated future chef des caves. Piper-Heidsieck produces around five million bottles a year and in recent years has moved to get away from supermarket distribution and consolidate an image centered on quality. This quality was possible above all thanks to Séverine Freson and to raising the quality of the grapes used in regard to both the varietal and the terroir.

At present some 60% of the grapes used for production are acquired from winegrowers with whom the Maison has had relations for years but the chairman of the EPI holding company that owns the Maison, Christopher Descours, is looking for vineyards to buy and taking into account that Pinot Noir makes up the majority of the blend and gives Piper-Heidsieck it its character, fruit and structure. And this despite the fact that Séverine Frerson is seeking greater elegance and freshness in the bend by using more Chardonnay and investing in reserve wines to obtain a more consistent style in the non-vintage wines.

The renewal process at Piper-Heidsieck was lucky to have benefitted from an excellent year like 2008 which led to the creation of a Vintage wine which Régis Camus himself described as “virtuous”. It was a great year for all of Champagne and marked a new course for Piper-Heidsieck, one with greater attention paid to the harmonic balance of the blend, using grapes from around 20 villages and having Chardonnay playing a new role.

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