Henriot Cuvee Hemera 2008

Champagne Henriot Hemera 2008 is a wonderful expression from one of the greatest Champagne vintages of the century… The wine is a harmonious blend of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from six historic Grand Cru’s - Verzy, Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne in Montagne de Reims and Avize, Chouilly, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in Cote des Blancs. It was aged for 12 years before release and has rich flavours of toffee, toast and baked stone fruit. Fresh, powerful and elegant on the palate with a savouriness on the finish. A real treat.

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.