Settling in Champagne nearly 400 years ago, the Henriot family first started in the textile industry before turning to grape farming, and they rapidly became experts in their fast-growing collection of terroirs. Apolline Henriot – one of the most famous “Champagne Widows” – founded the house in 1808 as a young, well-educated widow who became enamored with Champagne. She’d read a treatise published about 100 years prior that read, “Manière de cultiver la vigne et de faire le vin en Champagne" (or simply, the “Manner of cultivating vines and making wine in Champagne"). She went on to craft the house’s first cuvee, the iconic “Brut Souverain” that serves as the family flagship to this day.

The house began specializing in the creation of Blanc de Blancs beginning with the 4th generation, Paul Henriot, when he acquired prestigious vineyard parcels in the Grand Crus of  Avize, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Chouilly in the Côte des Blancs. Chardonnay quickly became a prized variety in the portfolio, with other prime chardonnay-dominant holdings joining the prestigious vineyards of Maison Henriot over the coming century. For this cuvee, we have a blend from all the house’s chardonnay holdings – crafted in a consistent house style that effortlessly melds the purity and minerality of the Côte des Blancs, with the ripe and round creaminess of fruit and textures, and the depth and complexity of multi-vintage blending. 

Roughly 70% of this delectable chardonnay stems from the 2017 vintage, with the remaining 30-ish% sourced from the house's perpetual reserves dating back to the 1970s. After a lengthy 5 years on the lees, and a Brut dosage of 5 grams per liter, the aromas are fantastically exuberant – with summer apricots and crunchy chalk sensations. The palate joins with freshly toasted brioche, flambé pineapple, myriad stone fruits, apple sauce, and aged gouda cheese – at once, rich and round, yet uplifting and refreshing with a pristinely clean finish that showcases the wine’s streamlined acidity. The critics love this (93 from Wine Spectator, plus double 92s from Suckling and Enthusiast) – and we know you will, too! Simply a delightful, and perfectly sized, bottle from start to finish that you’ll be thrilled to have all for yourself! Stock up on a few, since these are known to disappear from wine refrigerators all too quickly!