Magnum Champagne Charlie Brut 1982 Collection L'Oenothèque 2000 OWC - Charles Heidsieck

Charles Heidsieck

Fine Champagne from Reims

Heidsieck is one of the biggest champagne houses in France, founded in 1851 by Charles Heidsieck, the son of a rich wine merchant. Charles started exporting his wine almost immediately. First in Belgium, then the United Kingdom and after that the United States, a country that made him a rich man. The colorful dandy became the talk of the town in New York. Nicknamed "Champagne Charlie" by the local newspapers, this Frenchman had an incredible life. Caught by General Benjamin F. Butler during the Civil War, under suspicion of being a spy for the South, he was thrown in jail at Fort Jackson, Louisiana. After a few months, Charles was released thanks to a letter written to President Abraham Lincoln by French Emperor Napoleon III.

Heidsieck came back to France, completely broke. Fortunately for him, it turned out that a plot of land that he owned was the exact place the future citizens of Denver wanted to settle! Thanks to that sale and the support of many rich French families, Charles was able to keep his champagne business afloat. In 1867, he even bought some chalk quarries, the ideal natural warehouse to store his stock of bottles. When he died in 1893, the Charles Heidsieck brand was bought and sold many times. It belonged to the Rémy Cointreau group from 1985 to 2011 then ended up as an EPI Group property, bought by Christopher Descours.

Today, the Maison Charles Heidsieck owns 60 hectares of vineyards in the Marne region, cultivated in a sustainable manner. The ambition of the Descours family is to simply respect the will of the house's ambitious founder: to place the brand at the top. Nothing less for a man who single-handedly managed to convert the entire USA to his Champagne.

Discover the Charles Heidsieck champagne.