Henriot Cuvee Hemera 2006

Champagne Henriot Hemera 2006 is the latest release of this exceptional premium offering from the wonderful Champagne Henriot. The wine is an equal parts blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Henriot’s historic crus – Chouilly, Avize & Mesnil-sur-Oger (Chardonnay) Mailly, Verzy and Vezernay (Pinot Noir) and aged for 12 years on its lees before release. The dosage is low at 5g/l. It is an exotic and intoxicating wine with toasty and nutty flavours sitting beautifully behind the opulent citrus and orange fruit profile. The palate develops further with toffee and creme caramel flavours but finishes with a surprising saline minerality.

Champagne Henriot, founded in 1808, is one of the rare Champagne houses that has remained under the same family ownership for over two hundred years. The wines improved massively under the watchful eye of cellar master Laurent Fresnet who won the International Wine Challenge “Sparkling Winemaker of the Year” award for two successive years, in 2015 and again in 2016. Laurent moved on at the beginning of 2020 and was succeeded by the talented Alice Tetienne who had previously worked with Krug.

Alice selects two thirds of its grapes from Champagne’s 17 Grands Cru and 42 Premier Cru vineyards, a roll call of famous villages – Verzy, Verzenay, Avenay, Mareuil and Mailly for Pinot Noir, as well as Trepail, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger, Mesnil and Vertus for Chardonnay. Grapes from all vineyards, crus and parcels are fermented separately to capture the specific characteristics of the villages and to allow Chef de Cave, Alice to faithfully reproduce Henriot’s house style every year. The non-vintage Brut usually contains up to 30 different crus in a cleverly orchestrated balance with an average of 30% reserve wines.