Charles Heidsieck, Brut Millésime 2012 - 150cl

Charles Heidsieck age their vintage wines in chalk pits dug in the third century. The crayères beneath Reims — eight kilometres of tunnels opening into forty-seven chalk chambers, some of them thirty metres high — are a UNESCO site, and they hold a constant cool damp that no modern cellar can quite replicate. This 2012 spent ten years down there before release.

The blend is 60% Pinot Noir to 40% Chardonnay, drawn from ten Grands and Premiers Crus: Oger, Vertus, Chouilly, Cuis, Verzy, Aÿ, Ludes, Ambonnay, Tauxières and Avenay. That spread is deliberate — Charles has never been a single-village house, and the breadth is what gives the wine its shoulders. 2012 was a genuinely excellent Champagne vintage, ripe and structured in equal measure, which is rarer than the marketing suggests.

Deep gold in the glass, with a slow steady bead. The nose opens on citrus zest and crisp orchard fruit before the cellar time takes over — baked bread, buttery pastry, beeswax, and a faint smoky reduction that gives the whole thing a savoury edge. The palate is racy and chiselled rather than plump: baked apple, hazelnut, ripe pear and custard, with candied orange oil lifting the finish. It goes long and stays mineral.

A magnum ages more slowly and shows better than two bottles ever will. At £179.99 for this much cellar work in the large format, it is well judged.

How to Serve

8–10°C in a white-wine glass. Skip the flute — the pastry and beeswax notes are the best thing here and a narrow bowl traps them. Give the first glass ten minutes and you'll see why.

Where to Drink It

Wiltons, for game season and a magnum on the table. Scott's, where the wine's Pinot weight can handle a whole roast turbot. Planque in Haggerston if you want the bottle taken seriously without the tablecloth.

Food Pairings

Roast guinea fowl with bread sauce. The Pinot backbone has the weight for the bird and the acidity cuts through the sauce, and the toasted notes in the wine echo the bread. Failing that, a whole baked Vacherin and a spoon.