Champagne Henriot Brut Souverain NV (France)
The history of Champagne reminds me of Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote, “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” The long and fascinating history of Champagne is full of remarkable women who were way ahead of their time. Women who dared; women who strived for more than had been decided for them as a result of their gender. In 1808 Maison Henriot was founded by one such badly behaved and brilliant woman, Apolline Henriot, the young widow of Nicolas Henriot. Her first wine was a version of this wine, now known as Henriot Brut Souverain NV and it is a blend of all the house’s vineyards from 26 different crus and vintages.
Today, more than two centuries after its foundation, Champagne Henriot remains a small family-run business and its chef de cave is, fittingly, a woman. Alice Tétienne is one of the handful of women in Champagne to hold the prestigious title of cellar master – the person responsible for the entire Champagne-making process. This stunning Champagne is pale gold in the glass, the nose is lucious with gorgeous cream and brioche, which leads seamlessly into the beautifully balanced and lengthy palate.
In my introduction I encouraged you to find something you hadn’t heard of previously and couldn’t pronounce. I appreciate that could be a bit confronting, so here’s the good news: you now know of Champagne Henriot and its marvellous history, you know it is outstanding because our judges have deemed it so. All that’s left for you to know is that it’s pronounced ‘En- Ree-Oh’ – so now there’s nothing standing in your way. (A)