Every Bottle of Champagne Has a Tale to Tell
On the 17th of June 1971, a violent thunderstorm on the heels of devastating winds, cut a path of destruction through much of the precious grapes growing throughout the Vallée de la Marne of the Champagne wine region. Such was the unusual severity of this weather phenomenon, the region had not experienced a comparable meteorological event since the very same day in 1722 according to the Journal de la Régence. As vintner’s tales go, this was the stuff of nightmares, the prospect of row-upon-row of treasured vines stripped bare of foliage and fruit. Miraculously though, as fate would have it, the grapes were mostly spared, and buoyed even, by the return of hot, fair weather just shy of the harvests.
Every bottle of wine has a tale to tell, beginning with the unique interconnectedness of terroir, climate and weather of a vineyard, alongside the stewardship of generations of wine-making expertise, and this unlikely supercell event would shape the genesis of the vintage that would deliver Piper-Heidsieck’s HORS-SÉRIE 1971 Champagne. But the story doesn’t just end there. After resting a whole half-century in the cellars on remuage racks and under their original seal, the legacy of this historic cuvée, at the helm of Chief Winemaker Émilien Boutillat, has now been reconceptualised in a limited-edition of 2021 bottles. “I inherited the legacy of the 1971 vintage and wanted to reinterpret it with a fresh disgorgement to be able to share it with everyone. This is a fantastic opportunity to offer a journey through times” says Émilien Boutillat.
The Piper-Heidsieck HORS-SÉRIE Collection has, with its inaugural ”re-edit” of HORS-SÉRIE 1971, set in motion a revivified dialogue between the past and the present, giving free rein to their youngest Chief Winemaker to add his personal touch to the rekindling of this exceptional vintage. It is also an offering that reflects the assemblage of expertise of Piper-Heidsieck’s lineage of Chief Winemakers who nurtured and bestowed the vintage with the gift of time to perfect its half-century of slow ageing prior to its unveiling this year.
Upon HORS-SÉRIE 1971’s disgorgement in February of 2020, the Champagne would affirm itself, on the palates of Boutillat and the Piper-Heidsieck Tasting Committee, as an exceptional vintage such was its aromatic profile and spectacular vibrancy. A liquid reflection of the time that has passed – transporting us back to a decade of unbridled liberty, experimentation and gazing skyward with dramatic accomplishments in science and lunar exploration – HORS-SÉRIE 1971 offers up an outstanding continuum of aromas and flavours underscored with a spectacular freshness for a fifty-year-old Champagne. A subtle effervescence pervades the coppery golden-hued cuvée, with the nose revealing intense aromas of spiced notes. Ultimately, the vintage commands a long finish, addressing the palate with a lush, velvet touch, concluding with a robust vibrancy accented with citrus notes.
Described as a “perfect alliance of vinosity and lushness”, the artisanship of the bottle and the oak gift box of HORS-SÉRIE 1971, channelling elevated visions of pop design, does well to match the wine-making prowess of Boutillat. The prestigious Champagne house tasked artisans based in Rennes with sourcing select pieces of solid oak from sustainably-managed French forests. From these special pieces of oak, they set about sculpting the boxes by hand-carving directly into the wood, which impressively, was also aged for the same period as the wines of the HORS-SÉRIE 1971. Not only is the individual grain and hue of each gift box as distinctive as the wine they hold, the design also offers an original serving ritual, the bottle revealed on a 70s-inspired pedestal upon the wooden cover being removed.
HORS-SÉRIE 1971 is the ultimate gift for lovers and connoisseurs of great wines, to be savoured in all its complexity alone or shared amongst friends. In honour of this treasure of a cuvée exemplifying a conversation between two separate eras, Piper-Heidsieck has left no stone unturned with the addition of a special HORS-SÉRIE 1971 playlist to be found on Spotify, curated with maximum enjoyment in mind of some of the greatest pioneering musical legends to grace the ‘70s stage.
If this first opus, in the HORS-SÉRIE 1971, is an indication of what Piper-Heidsieck have in store for their unprecedented HORS-SÉRIE Collection under the tutelage of Émilien Boutillat, we are surely in for a most outstanding journey in story-telling gifted with the lustre of time.
Pick up a bottle for yourself from Glengarry.
Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV 2 Flutes Travel Gift Pack
Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut NV
Piper-Heidsieck Rose Sauvage NV
Piper-Heidsieck Essential Cuvee Reservee Brut
