Big, full-bodied and creamy, this slightly sweet Champagne seems a slightly heavy, with buttered apple and spice notes that pick up toasty nuances on the finish. Producer Information Heidsieck & Co Monopole is an established Champagne producer located in Reims. It is perhaps best recognized for its Pinot Noir-dominant cuvées, especially its non-vintage Brut known as the Blue Top. The house was founded in 1785 by Florens-Louis Heidsieck, and at various times has been the official supplier of Champagne to the King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, the English court, the Swedish court and King Gustaf, and the Tsar Nicolas II. Hiedsieck & Co Monopole has changed names several times throughout its history, but it was Florens-Louis Heidsieck's nephew, Henri-Louis Walbaum, who established the trademark 'Monopole' in 1860. The house has been owned by the group Vranken, owners of Pommery and Champagne Charles Lafitte, since 1996. Heidsieck's vineyards in Champagne are composed of calcareous soils, and are planted to Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The vines are tended to by hand throughout the year and harvested manually. Grapes are pressed and fermented with selected yeasts, and subsequent wines are blended from a combination of grape varieties, vintages and crus. Heidsieck's Champagnes include the Blue Top Brut, Blue Top Premier Cru Brut, Silver Top Brut, Rosé Top Brut, Gold Top Vintage, and Cuvée Impératrice. In 1998, around 2400 bottles of vintage 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Champagne were discovered and extracted from a World War I shipwreck. The bottles salvaged from the ship remained in good condition and have been sold at auctions around the world. In 2010, another shipwreck in the Baltic sea was found to have 200 bottles of wine from the 19th Century, some of which were determined to be Heidsieck & Co Monopole Champagne.
