We tasted: Henriot 1995

Few days ago, we had the chance to taste a special blend from Henriot: Cuvée des Enchanteleurs, the 1995 vintage. But before revealing the tasting notes, let’s look briefly at the history of this enchanting champagne house.

The history of the Henriot house started in 1794 when Nicolas Simon Henriot, who had been in the textile business since the 16th century (the history of Veuve Clicquot reveals some similarity with the alliance Philippe Clicquot and Nicolas Ponsardin), married Apolline Godinot, niece of the Abbé Godinot, an eminent scholar whose work had contributed to advance the viticulture practices. This marriage sealed a fruitful family alliance which, gave birth to champagne Henriot in 1808. This happened after the death of Nicolas Simon, when Apolline Henriot launched champagne maison “Veuve Henriot Ainé“, based in Bouzy. Since then, the Henriot house received many Royal Warrants, including from the King of Holland (1850), Prince Fredrick of Holland (1881), and François-Joseph II, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary (1905). Today, Henriot house is property of Veuve Clicquot and has a production of around 2 million bottles a year.

Cuvée des Enchanteleurs is the prestige cuvée of Henriot, made from the best vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in approximately same proportion. 1995 was a great Chardonnay year, with a large crop and very fine quality. The 1995 cuvée is rich, creamy and lightly toasty. Notes of grapefruit, peach, white truffles, spices, flowers, honey and mineral are present in this sharp and well-integrated wine. The fine bubbles confer an exceptional mousse, with a long aftertaste of vanilla and French toast. This cuvée is now (2020) at its peak of maturity, but could be kept for another few years in perfect cellar conditions.