The 2012 vintage is one of Champagne’s modern classics, ripe, structured and beautifully balanced, and it suits the Heidsieck style perfectly. This is a house known for patience in the cellar and a signature richness that feels luxurious rather than showy. In the glass you’ll find baked apple, golden citrus and white peach, followed by toasted brioche, roasted almonds and a gentle chalky freshness. The bubbles are fine, the texture creamy, and the whole thing unfolds with that slow-building complexity that vintage Champagne does so well. And then there’s the magnum. Bigger format, slower ageing, and just the right amount of theatre when the cork finally gives way. The sort of bottle that belongs at the centre of a table, somewhere between the oysters arriving and the conversation drifting happily off course.