Piper-Heidsieck Brut Rosé Champage Cuvée Rare 2008

98+ points Jeb Dunnuck: “[$450 list] The 2008 Champagne Rare Rosé is straight-up sensational. Only the second time they’ve produced this cuvée, it offers a deep, full-bodied, powerful yet chiseled and laser-focused style carrying loads of wild strawberry fruit as well as notes of orange blossom, spice, and crushed rocks. Backward, austere, yet simply loaded with potential, it needs a solid 4-5 years of bottle age and will drink brilliantly for two decades or more. Drink: 2023-2043. (11/5/19)”

97-98 points Essi Avellan, MW: "Elegant peachy colour. There is vanilla, light toastiness and roasted coffee complexity on the sweet berry nose of cherry, raspberry and blood orange. The pure and cool fruitiness impresses on the vibrant and structured palate. The characterful red fruitiness continues until the long mineral finish that has an attractive touch of ripe tannin to it. Still youthful but so fine and more and more expressive. (Dec 2021)"

97 points Wine Spectator: “[$450 list] A vibrant Champagne, ballet-slipper pink in color, featuring intense flavors of nectarine, ripe raspberry, grilled nut, espresso and graphite, with a touch of dried sage, all riding the finely detailed mousse. Like a ballerina, this offers power in a graceful form. A beautiful skein of spice unravels on the lasting finish. Drink now through 2033. 2,000 cases made, 200 cases imported. (12/15/19)”

97 points Peter Moser (Falstaff): "Medium salmon pink, fine copper reflections; delicate mousse lingers very well. Nuances of fine biscuit, hints of wild berry jam, red and also black berries, a touch of liquorice, floral scents. Juicy on the palate with notes of ripe cherries and yellow apple from the high Chardonnay proportion, firm structure, pleasantly dry finish with a lemony-salty echo. A multi-faceted food wine with further development potential. (11/21/19)"

96 points Simon Field, MW (Decanter): “In the first decade of this century, two years really stand out for Champagne: 2002 and 2008, although many now think that the cooler, more poised 2008 may win out in the end. Described with the two words, ‘precisely gracious’, the 2008 will be the next Blanc release. For the time being we have the fabulous rosé to enjoy, which is far lighter than the 2007 and much more refined. Cellar master Régis Camus waxes lyrical, comparing the colour to a ballerina’s pump or even the light filtering through the stained glass of the Basilica in Reims. Lovely evocative comparisons for a lovely, highly accomplished wine. Lychee, verbena and a basket of crisp red fruits all conspire with almonds, nutmeg and soft spice to shape this truly outstanding wine. (Drink between 2019-2030. (Oct 2019)”

96 points Tom Hewson (TimAtkin.com): "60% Chardonnay from Avize, Vertus and Villers-Marmery & 40% Pinot Noir from Verzy, with 13% red wine addition from Bouzy. Rare Rosé is deserving of a place at the very top table of prestige cuvée rosés. The initial brightness of the fruit is starting to soften now, putting the 2008 in the beginning of quite a delicious phase for top rosé - the tipping point. Think nectarine and freeze-dried berries, delicate dried flowers and rooibos, a little anise and amaretto. Still, that Rare signature of soft orange fruits is there, and the revitalising 2008 citric freshness runs through the palate. Totally beguiling, tremendous complexity contained in a deft, elegant package. (Dec 2022)"

95+ points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): “The 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Rare is the second rendition of this cuvée ever produced, and the wine is showing very well, unwinding in the glass with a youthfully shy nose featuring white cherries, blood orange, Meyer lemon, honeysuckle and dried white flowers that offers the promise of considerable complexity to come. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, racy and tight-knit, with good concentration, beautifully integrated acids and a fine mousse, concluding with a long, saline and delicately phenolic finish. This is really quite reserved after its recent disgorgement but should develop beautifully with a few years on cork. Drink: 2021-2035. (Aug 2019)”