Piper-Heidsieck Rare 1990

Persistent bead with real force behind it, lifting aromas of citrus peel, toasted brioche, and white peach over a deep chalky undercurrent. Warming spice and a flinty edge give the nose an authoritative complexity you don't often find in a 34-year-old Champagne. On the palate, the acidity is still coiled tight, driving, focused, and relentless through a finish that lingers long after the glass is empty. Grand cru fruit at this age rarely holds this kind of tension. Give it another ten years and this will be something else entirely.