One of the most exclusive prestige Champagne cuvées in the world: Piper-Heidsieck’s Rare Champagne, created for Marie-Antoinette, with a bottle by Fabergé: single bottle in presentation case

98/100 Wine Enthusiast
97/100 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC)
96/100 and Trophy, International Wine Competition (IWC)
Trophy, International Wine Challenge

Created only in years with exceptional harvests and presented in an eye-catching bottle designed by Pierre-Karl Fabergé, Rare Champagne is one of the most exclusive prestige cuvées in the world. The 2008 vintage is superb. Decanter World Wine Awards call it ‘a revelation’ . . . caramelised nuts, pastéis de nata, smoked sea salt, tropical fruit, red berry sorbet, crisp citrus, toasted gingerbread, cream and racy acidity: an otherworldly experience.’

Awarding the supreme Trophy in the International Wine Challenge, tasting note: ‘Ripe lemon, toasted nuts and brioche aromas. Complex, broad, powerful and weighty with smoky undertones. Opulent and rich, yet dry, with a long ageing potential.’

Exceptional in quality and history, Rare Champagne is an homage to Marie-Antoinette. In 1785, Florens-Louis Heidsieck presented his first ‘prestige cuvée’ to her, declaring that he wanted to make a ‘cuvée worthy of a queen’. A century later, Russian Tsar Alexander III’s jeweller, Pierre-Karl Fabergé, crafted the bejewelled bottle, inspiring the beautifully sculpted, gold-encrusted bottle of today. In its glamorous black and gold box, it makes a marvellous presentation gift—matched by the exceptional quality of the Champagne inside. What a seriously prestigious and discerning gift it makes, both to give and to receive.

Chardonnay 70%, Pinot Noir 30%. Single bottle in black and gold presentation case. Code RC08LW15. RRP £210. CCUK £153. Order Rare Champagne Millésime 2008 in presentation case.