First taste: New Henriot Hemera vintage Champagne launched
Champagne Henriot has launched a new prestige cuvée, Hemera, starting with the 2005 vintage.
Henriot Hemera, taking its name from the Greek goddess of daylight, has been launched as the house’s new top Champagne and replaces Cuvée des Enchanteleurs.
Hemera 2005, the debut Champagne in the new range, has a relatively low dosage of 5g per litre and has been aged on lees for 12 years, according to Henriot, which officially launched the new cuvée on 15 July.
It is made from 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir and carries a recommended retail price of £180 per bottle.
Decanter expert Michael Edwards was impressed after tasting the wine for the first time this month, praising it as a ‘perfectionist creation of Henriot’s villages, all grands crus’.
Premium members can read Michael’s full tasting note below
Henriot said that it will only make Hemera in certain years and that the wine is a blend of six grand cru Champagnes.
Chardonnay grapes were drawn from the Côte des Blancs, specifically from Chouilly, Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger. Pinot Noir grapes were from the north of the Montagne de Reims, from Mailly Champagne, Verzy and Verzenay, said Henriot.
There has been a lot of excitement around the Champagne 2005 vintage in general.
A Decanter vintage report from the time reported that harvesting took place in September ‘in ideal conditions with sunny days and cool nights’.
Weather was also kind to vineyards during the crucial fruit-set stage in June, despite a relatively slow start to the growing season thanks to a cold winter.
Family-owned Maisons & Domaines Henriot made news headlines in 2017 after it bought a majority stake in Oregon Pinor Noir producer Beaux Frères, via its American subsidiary.
It also owns Chablis producer William Fèvre and Burgundy merchant Bouchard Père & Fils.
Champagne Henriot was founded in 1808.
See full results of Decanter’s vintage Champagne panel tasting
Published online exclusively for Premium members in December 2017
