Rare Champagne originated within the historic Piper-Heidsieck house, founded in 1785 in Reims by Florens-Louis Heidsieck. The Piper-Heidsieck Maison’s early prestige is closely linked to its presentation of its Champagne to Queen Marie-Antoinette, an association that remains an established and documented part of Piper-Heidsieck’s heritage.
The modern identity of Rare, however, is not rooted in anecdotal royal preferences, but rather in a long-standing tradition of producing exceptional, vintage-only cuvées. In 1885, to commemorate the centenary of Piper-Heidsieck’s first prestigious bottling, the House released La Cuvée du Centenaire, a limited wine that can be considered the conceptual predecessor of today’s Rare Champagne.
