Charles Heidsieck
pronounced sharl ED-sikA Reims house that for a century and a half has put its cellars and reserve wines first, rather than vineyards. Its founder, “Champagne Charlie”, made Champagne famous in America. During the Civil War he was jailed there as an alleged spy, and his firm went bankrupt.
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House signature
Reserve wines
Half of Brut Réserve is reserve wine, ten years old on average; the house calls time its fourth grape variety.
Chalk crayères
Gallo-Roman quarries bought in 1867, around 30 metres beneath Reims, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2015.
Winemaker of the year
That is how many times in twenty years the house's chefs de cave have won the International Wine Challenge title for sparkling wines.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1851
- Based in
- Reims, chalk cellars beneath the Saint-Nicaise hill
- Type
- a house (négociant-manipulant), part of a group
- Owner
- the Descours family's EPI group (since 2011; previously Rémy Cointreau from 1985)
- President
- Nicolas Beckers, chairman and CEO of the company that runs Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck; the house is managed by its director Stephen Leroux
- Chef de cave
- Émilien Érard (since 2025; at the house since 2018)
- Vineyards
- the house relies on wines bought from growers in around 60 crus; the vineyards it shares with Piper-Heidsieck (including Aÿ, Bouzy and Ambonnay) are 100% HVE and VDC certified
- Production
- the house does not disclose it
- House style
- half of Brut Réserve is reserve wine, ten years old on average; ageing in Gallo-Roman chalk cellars
Data checked: October 2026.
History
- 1851
The son of the man who rode into Moscow
Charles-Camille Heidsieck was born in 1822 in Reims into a family with a history: according to family legend, his father Charles-Henri rode into Moscow on a white horse just ahead of Napoleon's army (1812), with wine and an order book, ready to sell to the victor. Charles-Camille started out at the house of Piper-Heidsieck. In 1851, aged 29, he founded his own house together with his brother-in-law Ernest Henriot, with whom he parted ways in 1875.
- 1852-1861
Champagne Charlie
In 1852 Heidsieck travelled to the United States for the first time, toured New England and New York State and hired an agent. Within five years he sold over 300,000 bottles there. The Americans called him “Champagne Charlie”, and “Harper's Weekly” reported on his travels. In 1859 he won a gold medal at the exhibition in Bordeaux and put it on the label.
- 1862
The prisoner of Fort Jackson
When the American Civil War broke out, more than half of the firm's assets were tied up in unpaid American bills. Heidsieck went South and accepted payment in cotton, but both ships that were to run the blockade were lost. In New Orleans General Benjamin Butler arrested him as a spy, because his diplomatic mail contained documents about supplies of uniforms for the Confederates. Napoleon III pressed for his release. He left Fort Jackson on 16 November 1862, ill and bankrupt.
- 1867
Chalk cathedrals
He paid off his debts thanks to plots of land in Denver, which he received as compensation from the brother of a dishonest agent and sold when the city boomed. He believed that the cellars matter more than the vineyards for the quality of Champagne. In 1867 he bought Gallo-Roman chalk quarries in Reims. The house's wine still ages in them today, and since 2015 the cellars have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
- 1976-2011
Reserves instead of volume
His descendants ran the house until 1976, when it merged with Champagne Henriot. In 1985 Charles Heidsieck became part of the Rémy Martin group, later Rémy Cointreau. Chef de cave Daniel Thibault then reshaped the non-vintage Champagne: he added a lot of reserve wine, and to build up stocks of it the house deliberately limited its sales. In 2011 Rémy Cointreau sold the house to Christopher Descours's EPI group.
- 2023-2026
A changing of the guard in the cellars
At the beginning of 2023 chef de cave Cyril Brun left for a winery in Italy. In March 2023 he was replaced by 36-year-old Élise Losfelt, previously head of winemaking at Moët & Chandon. She later returned to her family's Château de l'Engarran in Languedoc, and the cellars were taken over by Émilien Érard, at the house since 2018. In 2025 the house celebrated ten years since the crayères were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
People
Charles-Camille Heidsieck
He was educated in Paris and Lübeck and spoke fluent French, English and German. In 1850 he married Amélie Henriot, with whom he had eight children. He died in 1893, leaving a thriving firm to his son Charles Marie Eugène.
Daniel Thibault
The legendary, late chef de cave who began the house's line of outstanding winemakers. It was he who turned Brut Réserve into a Champagne built on reserve wines and changed the brand's standing.
Élise Losfelt
She came from Moët & Chandon and finished the 2022 blends with Cyril Brun two days before he left. Tyson Stelzer noted that after her appointment some journalists suggested she got the job because she is a woman. She left to return to her family estate in Languedoc.
Émilien Érard
The son of a family of Champagne growers and an oenologist for 15 years. At the house since 2018: he ran the winery, was responsible for relations with growers and cooperatives, and sat on the tasting committee for seven years.
House style
Charles Heidsieck buys wines from growers and blends them from many villages: around 60 crus go into Brut Réserve. The house calls three of them the pillars of its style: Chardonnay from Oger, Pinot Noir from Ambonnay and Meunier from Verneuil. The proportions are 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, vinified separately in steel, with 5-10% of wine from old Burgundy barrels.
The house's hallmark is its reserve wines: in Brut Réserve they make up half the blend and are ten years old on average. The house says time is its fourth grape variety. The bottles age for at least four years, sometimes more than forty, in over 8 km of chalk crayère galleries around 30 metres beneath Reims. In twenty years the house's chefs de cave have won the International Wine Challenge sparkling winemaker of the year title no fewer than twelve times.
Key cuvées
- Brut Réserve
- A non-vintage Champagne from around 60 crus: 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Meunier and half reserve wines, ten years old on average.Serving: as an aperitif, with smoked salmon, poultry terrine and Brie.
- Rosé Réserve
- The rosé version of the non-vintage Champagne, built on the same reserve-wine philosophy.Serving: salmon, duck, lamb, red fruit.
- Blanc de Blancs
- A non-vintage Champagne made only from Chardonnay.Serving: oysters, scallops, fish with butter.
- Blanc des Millénaires
- A vintage Blanc de Blancs and the house's top wine; the 2014 and 2017 vintages are available.Serving: lobster, turbot, Bresse chicken, aged Comté.
- Champagne Charlie
- A cuvée named after the founder's nickname: around 55% mature reserve wines, some of which spent up to 25 years on the lees, the rest from the 2019 vintage.Serving: roast game, mushrooms, mature cheeses.
- Brut Vintage 2018
- A vintage Champagne from 2018, alongside the 2012 vintage rosé.Serving: roast poultry, veal, fish in sauce.
Curiosities
- In 1989 Hugh Grant played Charles Heidsieck in the French-Canadian television film “Champagne Charlie”. Seven years earlier Joseph Henriot had published a novel about him under the same title. source
- anecdote According to the English Wikipedia, the plots with which the dishonest agent's brother paid off the debt made up a third of Denver. Other sources do not confirm this figure, and the French Wikipedia speaks cautiously of “numerous plots”. source
- rumour The French Wikipedia says a song was written about Charles. However, the famous 1866 hit “Champagne Charlie” was sung in London music halls by George Leybourne, and the English Wikipedia does not link it to Heidsieck. source
- In the early 20th century the house supplied the royal courts of Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Spain, Luxembourg and Austria. An advertisement from 1923 bears the coat of arms of the King of England. source
- In its report for 2024-2025, the house states that 3,225 bottles crossed the Atlantic on the cargo sailing ship Grain de Sail II, built to carry goods under sail. source
- Tyson Stelzer, author of “The Champagne Guide”, gives Charles Heidsieck his top rating of 10/10, one of five in his guide. source
- Élise Losfelt came to Charles Heidsieck from Moët & Chandon, and her predecessor Cyril Brun was the first chef de cave from Champagne to move to a winery in Italy. source
Charles Heidsieck, Piper-Heidsieck and Heidsieck & Co Monopole are one house.
They are three separate houses from one family tree. Florens-Louis Heidsieck founded Heidsieck & Co in 1785. His nephew Christian started what became Piper-Heidsieck, while Henri-Louis Walbaum and Auguste Heidsieck started the Monopole brand, now part of the Vranken-Pommery group. Charles-Camille, the son of his nephew, opened his own house in 1851. Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck have had the same owner, the EPI group, since 2011. source
“The grapes give you one hundred per cent of the potential they have at the moment of harvest, and your job as chef de cave is to do everything to make sure that one hundred per cent survives to the end.”
Frequently asked questions
Who was Champagne Charlie?
That is what the Americans called Charles-Camille Heidsieck, who went to the USA in 1852 to sell Champagne and sold over 300,000 bottles there in five years. During the Civil War he was imprisoned as an alleged spy and was released only after Napoleon III intervened.
Are Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck the same house?
No. They are separate houses from the same family: Charles-Camille started out at Piper-Heidsieck and founded his own house in 1851. Since 2011 both have belonged to the same EPI group of the Descours family, but they have separate cellars, chefs de cave and styles.
What makes Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve stand out?
Its share of reserve wines: they make up half the blend and are ten years old on average. The wine is made from around 60 crus, in the proportions 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, and ages in chalk cellars for at least four years.
What are the Charles Heidsieck crayères?
They are former Gallo-Roman chalk quarries beneath Reims, which Charles Heidsieck bought in 1867. They have over 8 km of galleries around 30 metres underground, and since 2015 they have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Who makes the Charles Heidsieck wines?
Since 2025 the chef de cave has been Émilien Érard, at the house since 2018. He replaced Élise Losfelt, who took over the cellars from Cyril Brun and ran them from 2023 to 2025. The house belongs to Christopher Descours's EPI group.
Other houses
All houses
Moët & Chandonpronounced mo-ET ay shahn-DOHN50 bottles
Dom Pérignonpronounced dom peh-ree-NYOHN27 bottles
Bollingerpronounced boh-lan-ZHAY19 bottles
Krugpronounced kroog13 bottles
Veuve Clicquotpronounced vuhv klee-KOH11 bottles
Lansonpronounced lahn-SOHN10 bottles
Louis Roedererpronounced lwee ROH-duh-rer9 bottles- J-M Sélèquepronounced zhee em seh-LEK10 bottles
- Marguetpronounced mar-GAY10 bottles
Deutzpronounced duhts10 bottles
Laurent-Perrierpronounced loh-RAHN peh-ree-AY8 bottles
Ruinartpronounced rwee-NAR8 bottles
Sources
- The Cellar Masters - charlesheidsieck.com
- The Crayères - charlesheidsieck.com
- Brut Réserve - charlesheidsieck.com
- Champagne Charlie - charlesheidsieck.com
- The founder - charlesheidsieck.com
- The Charles style - charlesheidsieck.com
- Rapport RSE 2024-2025 Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck (PDF)
- Charles Heidsieck - Wikipedia (EN)
- Charles Heidsieck - Wikipedia (FR)
- Champagne Charles Heidsieck - Wikipedia (FR)
- Heidsieck & Co - Wikipedia (EN)
- Champagne Charlie (song) - Wikipedia (EN)
- Introducing Charles Heidsieck Chef de Cave Elise Losfelt - Tyson Stelzer
- Charles Heidsieck appoints new winemaker - The Drinks Business, June 2025
Photos: unknown, public domain (Wikimedia Commons); unknown, public domain (Wikimedia Commons).
