Heidsieck & Co Monopole

One of the three Heidsieck Champagne Houses

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Heidsieck was established in 1785 by Florenz-Ludwig Heidsieck, and his three nephews turned it into three different Champagne Houses, Heidsieck & Co Monopole (established 1834), Piper-Heidsieck (established 1834), and Charles Heidsieck (established 1851).

We discuss Heidsieck & Co Monopole in this article, which is now owned by Vranken Pommery Monopole, a large and rapidly growing Champagne producer who also owns Charles Lafitte, Demoiselle, Pommery, and more as well as releasing bottles under the Champagne Vranken Brand.

They are located in Epernay and well known for many reasons, including that their Non Vintage Blue Top Brut was the official Champagne of The Titanic, and that the most expensive Champagne is 1907 Heidsieck, 2000 bottles of which were found in1998 in a Swedish freighter shipwreck in the Gulf of Finland. It sank while attempting to delivering the bottles to the Imperial Court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and they fetched US$275,000 a bottle at auction.

But on to more practical matters. Heidsieck & Co Monopole makes several Champagnes, including a Rose, but the most common and perhaps the only ones you'll encountered are the NV Blue Top Brut and the Prestige Cuvee Diamand Blue.

The NV Blue Top Brut is a good deal in Champagne and easily recognizable by its blue top and yellow label. This is what they were drinking when the Titanic sank. It's 70% Pinot Noir, 20 % Chardonnay, and 10%  Pinot Meunier.

It is relatively simple yet pleasant to drink, with crisp apple and toast flavors, and many people recommend it for when you have a crowd to feed Champagne to, like at a wedding or other event. It has a bit more dosage than lovers of very dry Champagne may prefer.Heidsieck Diamant Bleu 1989 MagnumHeidsieck Diamant Bleu

The Diamant Bleu is their prestige cuvee, and a tasting note follows below.

Half Pinot Noir and half Chardonnay, it comes in a distinctive bottle that looks like a cut diamond as you can see from the pictures.

I've had the 1989 twice from magnum recently (2011).

The first time it simply disappeared from memory among a cavalcade of magnums of Champagne, many from younger and more powerful years and we all simply (barely) remembered that it was pretty good. 1989, although a wonderful year did not produce powerful Champagne like 1988, 1990 and 1996 for example.

I saved the second 1989 magnum and served it alone at a birthday party. It shone alone, and some even preferred it to the 2002 Cristal that followed, perhaps not a surprise as the styles are quite different.

Tasting Note: Heidsieck & Co Monopole Diamant Bleu 1989 from Magnum

A light straw color, with perhaps a touch of tangerine around the edges.

Nose - wonderfully giving ripe golden apples

On the palate, a very creamy smooth and mellow, with plenty of ripe apples. A wonderful slightly mature Champagne. A true pleasure to drink!

Be aware that there seems to be quite a bit of older Diamant Bleu floating around on the market place, mostly 1989, and although great deals are to be had, provenance of older Champagne is of paramount importance.

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