Piper Heidsieck "Cuvee Rare" Brut 2013 (Champagne, France) - [JD 98] [JS 96] [DM 96] [WS 95] [WE 95] [WA 93]

About the winery: Piper-Heidsieck was founded in 1785 by F. L. Heidsieck, a German who fell in love with a girl from Champagne - and the wine as well. Following his death in 1828, his nephew took over with help from cousin H. G. Piper; the Piper name was added in 1838. Their tete de cuvée, top of the line bubbly, is the Cuvée Rare. This wine is only made only made in years when weather conditions are considered perfect for what cellarmaster Regis Camus calls 'an extraordinary cuvée', when the grapes receive enough heat to become truly lush. The first Rare vintage was made in 1976 after an incredibly intense heatwave. Since then, there have only been nine more Rare cuvées: 1979, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2006, and with the 2007, their first-ever rosé - followed by the 2008 and now the 2013. About this wine:Rare Millésime 2013 expresses the house’s signature—blending minerality with a tropical twist—in two stages. Despite its initially reserved appearance, this vintage unfur