The prestige brand spin-off from Champagne Piper-Heidsieck has just released two new cuvées.
Nicolas Marzolf, brand manager for Rare Champagne in the UK, notes that this was the first release of a Rare luxury cuvée without its now-retired cellar master, the charismatic Régis Camus. The baton for this spin-off brand is now taken over by Émilien Boutillat who is also the dynamic cellar master of Piper-Heidsieck.
Marzolf noted that the 2012 vintage of Rare Rosé Millésime was only the third rosé released to date, after the vintages 2007 and 2008. He noted that usually all white cuvées of Rare were made from 70% of Chardonnay and 30% of Pinot Noir, while the rosé cuvées struck a different balance of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir – this was also the case for Rare Rosé Millésime 2012.
The wine spent eight years on lees and was disgorged in summer 2021 with a dosage of 7g/l. Marzolf noted that all Rare cuvées were disgorged on demand, so there was no set dosage and later disgorgements may well differ. He also noted that the wine received its lovely coppery pink hue from an addition of 8% of Pinot Noir from Les Riceys vinified as a red wine. “Salinity, white flowers and spicy notes are the Rare signature,” Marzolf said. Each vintage is given an attribute by the house, for the 2012 Rosé vintage the term chosen was “virtuoso”.
At the same time, the magnum edition of Rare Magnum Millésime 2006 was released – a wine that shines with remarkable youthfulness. It is only the fourth time a Rare cuvée has been released. It spent 14 years on lees and was disgorged with a dosage of 9g/l – the attribute for the 2006 vintage was “sunny”.
