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A 35-year-old cellar master receives a collector's series from one of the best-known major champagne houses free rein. Emilien Boutillat from Piper Heidsieck talks about long matured champagnes and fresh ideas.Emilien Boutillat, the youngest winemaker of all the big houses, works at Champagne Piper-Heidsieck. When he started four years ago, he received a "Carte Blanche" from the owners to realise his ideas. This gave rise to the "Hors" series: in 2021, a 1971 was disgorged and released; this year, it is a vintage champagne from 1982 that was aged on its lees for 39 years. Alexander Lupersböck spoke with Emilien Boutillat at the presentation of the Hors 1982 about his plans and the maturity development of champagnes.
How did the idea for the Hors series come about?
Emilien Boutillat: We want to show something new and surprising. This could be certain terroirs, or vinification techniques and styles. I have carte blanche here and can realise my ideas completely freely. Piper-Heidsieck does not have a prestige cuvée, because the wines of the "Rare" series are completely independent, even though I am responsible for them. The name Piper-Heidsieck is not on them.
Were the champagnes intended for such long ageing even back then?
Emilien Boutillat: Yes, the winemakers back then created archives, because you can learn a lot from that. From some vintages, less was put away, from others more. In any case, we keep many bottles of the current vintages.
©Helmut StelzenbergerWhy 1982 of all years?
Emilien Boutillat: 1982 was a very dry year and brought the biggest harvest in Champagne so far. My predecessor put around 4,000 bottles of the Brut Sauvage 1982 in the cellar, unorganised. The Hors-Série 1982 is therefore a Brut Sauvage 1982 that has lain on its lees for 39 years. There are around 2,500 bottles of this. The Brut Sauvage 1982 that was intended at the time was disgorged in 1992. It is, so to speak, the predecessor of today's Essentiell wines, which have been demonstrating our expertise in extra brut champagnes since 2013.
How was it produced back then?
Emilien Boutillat: The tirage for the Hors-Série 1982 was also made in 1983. The wine consists of 60 per cent Pinot Noir and 40 per cent Chardonnay from Grands Cru sites in the Montagne de Reims. It was fermented in steel tanks and malolactic fermentation was stopped, which is why it still has this freshness today. Freshness is a decisive stylistic element of Piper-Heidsieck. The dosage is Piper-Heidsieck Vintage 1982 with 4 g/L sugar - so it is a pure 1982.
What characterises these wines after this long ageing period?
Emilien Boutillat: We will release a collector's box with one bottle each of Brut Sauvage 1982 and Hors-Série 1982 so that wine lovers can get an idea of how differently the wines develop with the lees ageing. The Hors 1982 shows notes of yeast and sultanas, exotic fruits, toasted almonds and has an incredible freshness. The Brut Sauvage 1982 tastes riper, creamier, has honey notes, is rounder. You can see from this how well the yeast preserves. I see it as two mirror images of one person. The original is the same, but it became two types of wines. Of course, after so long, there is a certain bottle variation, each bottle is individual. Compared to the 1971 Hors-Série, you notice that a lot has improved in the ten years in between - winemaking and closure technology, for example. The 1982s are more consistent in the series. I think this wine can improve over the next ten to fifteen years with bottle ageing.
Were bottles opened again and again in between to check the condition?
Emilien Boutillat: We constantly taste bottles of all the reserve wines in our cellars to observe their development. The idea for the first two wines of the Hors-Série came from such a tasting. The Hors-Série 1982 was disgorged in January 2022 and tested by us. You can say that every single bottle at least passed through my nose.
©Helmut StelzenbergerHow will the concept of Hors develop? Will the wines always be released in decade increments?
Emilien Boutillat: The decision for 1971 and 1982 was not a marketing thing. I have free rein, what I want to bring out. There should be a Hors at least every other year. This series should be both the flagship of Piper-Heidsieck and a project in which we show what we can do. It is clearly aimed at champagne freaks. And I may reveal about the next Hors: Let yourself be surprised! It will be extraordinary. Unfortunately, there will not be a Hors from 1987, the year I was born. It was not a particularly good year.
What do you personally associate with 1982?
Emilien Boutillat: Since I was only born in 1987, I have no personal experience of 1982, but we all thought about what was going on in 1982 and tried to understand the zeitgeist. Graphic art was emerging at the time, hip-hop was becoming popular. So the label on the wooden box is a tribute to Keith Haring and street art, graffiti. And it's done as a hologram, it changes depending on the angle of view. Those also came up at the time. You can also download a playlist from our website with a lot of music hits from that year - as you did for the 1971. I find the music from 1982 very interesting, exciting and diverse, it goes well with the wine.