The Producer & Vintage

Founded in 1851 by Charles-Camille Heidsieck, Charles Heidsieck is today the smallest of Champagne’s Grandes Marques, but one of its most decorated.

The house has a particularly long history with Chardonnay, producing Blanc de Blancs as far back as the 1949 vintage, while its winemakers have collectively won the International Wine Challenge’s Sparkling Winemaker of the Year sixteen times. No other Champagne house comes close to that record.

Much of the character of the wines comes from extended ageing beneath Reims in Charles Heidsieck’s extraordinary 2,000-year-old chalk crayères, where some of the house’s greatest reserves have been held for decades

Charles Heidsieck has a history of identifying potential in vintages others initially overlooked, including 2007 and 2014, and 2017 appears to have followed the same path.

One of the most fascinating details is the inclusion of Chardonnay from Chouilly for the first time in Blanc des Millénaires since 1983. While neighbouring areas suffered badly from August storms, Chouilly escaped the worst and produced Chardonnay of exceptional quality.

The result is another example of Charles Heidsieck doing what it has so often done: finding greatness in a vintage that was far from straightforward.

Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millénaires 2017

£690 per case (6*75cl) in bond

* Only 20 cases available.
Due to arrive in early October.

We are delighted to offer the newly released 2017 Blanc des Millénaires from Charles Heidsieck, a Champagne awarded a perfect 100 points by James Suckling.

This is only the tenth release of Blanc des Millénaires in more than four decades, following 1983, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2014.

One of Champagne’s great prestige Blanc de Blancs, Blanc des Millénaires is produced only in selected vintages and has become one of the most sought-after wines in the Charles Heidsieck range.

The 2017 has been almost nine years in the making. It was blended and laid down in 2018 by then Cellar Master Cyril Brun, before being brought through its final stages by current Chef de Cave Emilien Erard, who later oversaw its disgorgement and dosage in June 2025.

James Suckling described the wine as “complete and unique”, highlighting its combination of refinement, structure and remarkable length.

We opened it up in the Seckford offices and the team were blown away. The fruit is simply sublime. There is an amazing and unexpected softness against real depth of brioche from the time spent ageing. A true delight to the senses.

Much of its long evolution took place deep beneath Reims in Charles Heidsieck’s historic chalk crayères, the ancient cellars that inspired the name Blanc des Millénaires.

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The Critics Scores

100
James Suckling, August 2026, JamesSuckling.com
“A very precise Blanc des Millénaires with subtle aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine, stones, steel, chalk, watercress and some white peaches. Medium- to full-bodied with transparency and clarity that come through clearly and go on and on, The first year they used wine from the grand cru village of Chouilly. Complete and unique. Refined and structured at the same time”
Drinking Date: 2018 - 2038
96
Tom Hewson, March 2026, Decanter.com
“Chardonnay in the well-drained chalk soils of the Côte des Blancs performed so well in torrid 2017 that Charles Heidsieck produced only the fifth vintage of Blanc des Millénaires in 30 years, hailing predominantly from the grand cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger alongside surrounding grand and premier cru Chardonnay. With a moderate yield, some early season heat and a good retention of acidity, the 2017 is both aromatically inviting and reassuringly ageworthy. With orange citrus, jasmine, sweet toasted almond and richer pear tart flavours building, this ultra fine blanc de blancs is cut with dash of smoky, charry energy and citrus syrup length, already expressive yet bound to ramp up the nutty, toasty headiness with further time. This will prove itself one of the wines of the vintage”
Drinking Date: 2018 - 2038
95+
Kristaps Karklins, March 2026, RobertParker.com
“Anchored in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Vertus and complemented by fruit from Avize, Oger and Chouilly, the 2017 Blanc de Blancs Blanc des Millénaires—disgorged in July 2025 with a dosage of nine grams per litre—has turned out very well. It wafts from the glass with aromas of orange oil, dried flowers and roasted cacao bean, mingled with nuances of Sichuan pepper and a top note of burnt buttered toast. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, ample and textural, with a deep core of fruit and vibrant acidity that carries through a long, chalky finish. Darker and more brooding than its predecessor, it is also slightly more structured and promises to deliver considerable pleasure right out of the gate. In a vintage that, to put it mildly, did not make life easy in the vineyards, this represents a notable success.”
Drinking Date: 2018 - 2038
94
Antony Rose, June 2026, RealRevew.com
“Pale gold. Youthful fresh aromas, biscuity notes with toasted hazelnut and grilled almond, a floral note, and a hint of linseed oil on a cricket bat. Elemental, still. The textured mousse delivers an expressive tropical citrus fruit opulence, a pure and precise fruit quality, super-fresh and elegant, but still elementally youthful; light toasty notes with shards of refreshing citrus-zesty acidity, tapering to a finely balanced, mouth-wateringly tangy dry finish”
Drinking Date: 2018 - 2038

To order, please contact.