Rare Champagne

Rare Champagne

I've tasted 3 champagnes from Rare Champagne — enough to get a solid picture. The house is based in the Grand Cru, Premier Cru, works with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and shows a clear signature in its range.

Rare Champagne is the prestige line of Piper-Heidsieck — and it's good at making you forget that. While Piper-Heidsieck as a brand is positioned more in the upscale mainstream, Rare plays in a completely different league. The champagnes are produced exclusively as vintage champagnes and only in years that the Chef de Cave deems worthy. This alone creates an exclusivity that is reflected in the glass.

What makes Rare special: Access to selected Grand-Cru and Premier-Cru sites from across Champagne. The assemblage combines Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the best parcels, and aging on the lees often lasts over a decade. This results in champagnes with a depth and complexity that you normally only find in the very great Prestige Cuvées.

Terroir and Location

The champagnes from Rare Champagne come from the Grand Cru, Premier Cru. The house has access to Grand-Cru sites, which is reflected in the quality of the base wines. Premier-Cru sites give the champagnes additional depth and complexity.

The combination of Grand-Cru and Premier-Cru grapes is a conscious stylistic decision. The Grand-Cru sites provide concentration and intensity, the Premier-Cru sites bring finesse and nuances. Together they create something that is more than the sum of its parts — champagnes with both power and elegance.

The Range

Rare Champagne offers 3 different cuvées that I was able to try. In the program: Rosé, vintage champagnes. A focused range that puts quality over quantity.

The Cuvées in Detail

Brut Millésime 2008

An opulent, harmonious champagne with deep honey and brioche notes that unfolds on the palate with fine spice and vanilla and shows incredible length. Highlights: honey, brioche, vanilla, enormous length.

2008 is considered by many to be the best vintage of the last twenty years in Champagne — and the Rare 2008 shows why. The length on the finish is remarkable: the champagne echoes for minutes, with ever-new nuances of vanilla, spices and salty minerality. The opulence doesn't mask the precision — nothing here is overripe or heavy, but everything is in perfect balance.

My tip: If you have the chance to drink a 2008 Rare, don't hesitate. This vintage will be considered a reference in Champagne for decades to come.

Type: Rosé | Vintage: 2008 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Rosé Millésimé 2012

Dark, warm spice with wild cherry, raspberry, orange zest, smoke, cocoa and pink pepper. Creamy-silky texture, powerful and elegant with deep, spicy complexity. Highlights: wild cherry, creamy-silky, spicy-elegant, over 10 years on lees.

The Rosé 2012 is anything but a typical rosé champagne. Forget pale salmon colors and light summer freshness — this champagne is dark, spicy and almost meditative. The over ten years of lees aging have given it a complexity that goes far beyond what you'd expect from a rosé. The creamy-silky texture almost reminds you of a great Burgundy. Cocoa and pink pepper on the finish make it a champagne that's best enjoyed alone and in peace.

Type: Rosé | Vintage: 2012 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Millésime 2013

Silky, fruity champagne with complex character that combines aromas of flowers, green tea, honey, citrus and vanilla. A fine bitterness and long finish round out the experience. Highlights: silky, complex, flowers and honey, long finish.

The 2013 shows a different side of Rare: less opulent than the 2008, but finer and more subtle. The aromas of green tea and flowers are unusual and give the champagne something almost Asian. The fine bitterness on the finish is a sign of the low dosage and the quality of the base wines — inferior grapes would seem harsh here, not elegant.

Type: Prestige Cuvée | Vintage: 2013 | Grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

My Tastings

Conclusion

Rare Champagne is for me one of the most exciting prestige lines in Champagne. While Cristal, Dom Pérignon and Comtes de Champagne carry the better-known names, Rare offers a level that matches — often at a fairer price. Anyone looking for Prestige Cuvées with real character and not just chasing the big names should have Rare on their radar.