The scent of freshly baked, buttery shortcrust fills the nose, air adds an iodine edge of oystershell and fresh navel orange peel. The palate hits a sweet spot between body, freshness and depth, each sip is like a salty nugget of liquid gold.\n \n Producer Information\n Champagne Henriot is an independent, family-owned house in Champagne. The Brut Souverain is the house's most important wine, both in terms of fame and production, and is made of roughly equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a smaller proportion of Pinot Meunier. The Henriot family control roughly 35 hectares (87 acres) of vineyards, scattered around the Vallée de la Marne, Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. These provide around 20 percent of the company's needs, with most of the remainder supplied by regular contract growers. Pinot Noir is selected mainly from the premier and grands cru vineyards on the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims, while the Chardonnay comes largely from the Côte des Blancs. Chardonnay is Henriot's most important variety, and the portfolio has both a generic Blanc de Blancs wine and the premium Cuve 38, sourced exclusively from grand cru vineyards. Henriot also makes a Demi-Sec and Rosé Brut, as well as a Vintage Brut and Rosé. Previously named the Cuvée des Enchanteleurs, the Cuvée Hemera is at the very top of the range and is only produced in the best years. The first vintage of the Cuvée Hemera was the 2005. The Henriot family came from Lorraine originally, but moved to the Champagne region in 1640 and began to broker wines and acquire vineyards. Henriot was established in 1808 and in 1850, the business was declared the official supplier to the Imperial and Royal Court of Austria. It is now part of a wider group that includes Bouchard Père et Fils in Burgundy, William Fèvre in Chablis, and Villa Ponciago in Beaujolais.
