“God exists and we know what he drinks!” Exclaims Cyril Brun about the future 2022 vintage. in the three grape varieties, my best harvest for twenty-five years.” Already a quarter of a century since this son of Ay, born into a family of merchant wine growers and coopers, earned his oenologist diploma and joined the Veuve-Clicquot teams, where he remained for fifteen years. Until the luxury group EPI (Weston, Bonpoint, etc.) entrusted him with the destiny of Charles Heidsieck, in May 2015.
He then discovered the impressive quantity of bottles – more than 50,000 – which slept in the Gallo-Roman chalk pits of the house. “A fabulous treasure, I tasted everything!”, remembers the lover of Japanese gastronomy fondly. This resource ensures the inimitable style of brut without year, fruit of the assembly of wines of a more than respectable age with a base year. Half of the Brut Réserve (€50), currently on sale in a Collector’s version, is made from the 2017 harvest. The whole, aged for four years in the cellar, is distinguished by “the combination of freshness and complexity that constitutes the signature of the house”, explains the cellar master.
The iconic Charlie cuvée is back
Since he has been in office, Cyril Brun has been creating a series of creations. First a non-vintage Blanc de blancs which was missing from the range: “We perceive the sharp, angular dimension of Chardonnay. A mineral, saline, slightly iodized wine”, analyzes the one who has just been crowned Best for the second time. sparkling wine cellar manager at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London – the Goncourt of the bubble. The meticulous exploration of the terroirs, over the 80 hectares of the estate, then led him to deliver four expressions of Chardonnay in still wine through the Oger, Villers-Marmery, Vertus and Montgueux crus. “Tasting them allows you to understand the identity of our champagnes”, explains the brilliant master blender.
His latest opus is the most ambitious. During his first visit to the chalk pits, bottles particularly caught his attention: those of the mythical “Charlie”, an ephemeral top-of-the-range cuvée launched in 1976. “This wine marked my childhood, confides Cyril Brun. Each of the four vintages released remained surprisingly young, offering rare creaminess and freshness.” The idea of relaunching it seems obvious to him. A feeling immediately shared with Stephen Leroux, the general manager, who was already preparing the bicentenary, in 2022, of the birth of the founder of the house, this globe-trotting gentleman who crossed the Atlantic four times, in the 19th century, to discover his champagne to the Americans.
Wine making was also a sort of odyssey for Cyril Brun. After initial unsuccessful attempts, the cellar master pierced the secret of Charlie’s exceptional fabric: “The greater the share of reserve wine, the closer the blend came to the taste of Charlie.” Drawn from the rich collection of the house, it is mounted up to 80%. “To comply with the regulations, we do not claim a vintage, specifies the man of the art. Only the mention ‘cellared in 2017’ appears on the label.” A commendable concern for transparency and, above all, a great way to get out of conventions, to push the limits… Typically Charles! No doubt, Cyril Brun is following in his footsteps.