93

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

The 2006 Blanc des Millenaires is a rich, punchy Champagne that captures all of the radiant intensity of this warm year. Apricot, lemon confit and tropical accents bring out the more extroverted side of Chardonnay. Warm, toasty brioche notes add to its considerable appeal. This is a terrific showing. Best of all, the 2006 will drink well right out of the gate. 11/2020

94

Richard Juhlin

Richard Juhlin

A slightly weaker aroma and more knotted initially than we are used to from this wonderful prestige champange. With time in the glass, the whole beautifully slim spectrum came with vanilla, sweet citrus, roasted almonds and coffee. The taste is a dream of velvety elegance and sophisticated composition. Incredibly easy to identify champagne from year to year. Very mature nose lately. 04/2024

94

William Kelley

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

Recently disgorged with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2006 Brut Blanc de Blancs Blanc des Millénaires is expressive and charming, in keeping with the sunny, demonstrative style of the vintage. Offering up aromas of toasted brioche, honeycomb, yellow apples and preserved citrus, it's full-bodied, fleshy and textural, with a rich core of fruit, ripe acids and an attractive pinpoint mousse. It's already drinking well, and I'd be inclined to approach it sooner than the more tightly wound 2004 rendition. 09/2020

94

Kristaps Karklins

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

From an extreme vintage characterized by ample yields, the 2006 Blanc de Blancs Blanc des Millénaires, disgorged in 2019 with a dosage of seven grams per liter, soars from the glass with aromas of peach, orange oil and roasted almonds mingled with notes of burnt buttered toast. Medium-bodied and fleshy, the palate is built around a muscular, generous core of fruit laden with succulent acidity and enlivened by a pretty pinpoint mousse. The wine successfully marries richness and texture with the freshness conferred by vinification in stainless steel tanks, yet it remains a demonstrative, expansive rendition of Blanc des Millénaires. Charles Heidsieck shares its vineyard resources with Piper-Heidsieck, with the two houses jointly managing some 80 hectares through a combination of ownership and long-term lease agreements—an area that accounts for approximately 15% of the group’s grape requirements. Since 2020, herbicides have been eliminated from the estate’s vineyards, where cultivation is now performed mechanically. Although the house does not prescribe specific viticultural practices to its growers, it encourages conscientious farming through premium payments for organically cultivated fruit. The vineyards, planted to a mix of massal selections and clonal material, average around 30 years of age, while approximately two hectares are replanted annually. 06/2026

95

James Suckling

James Suckling

Rippling with ripe stone-fruit and citrus aromas, plus notes of buttered toast and chalk, this is both powerful and mouthwatering, with enough structure to carry its imposing stature. The lemony finish is at once creamy and saline. A Blanc de Blancs from 5 top Crus in the Côte des Blancs. Drink now. 07/2022