Rare Champagne, is a truly rare and special Champagne, it has a noble origin that dates back to a tribute to the Queen Marie-Antoinette
It is made only in rare and extraordinary vintages “when nature unleashes its forces”. Since 1976, only 9 vintages of Rare Champagne have been made, eight white vintages, and a single rosé.
For presenting their most rare and luxurious Champagne, Rare le Secret, the house chose the two Michelin stars restaurant of the splendid Capri Palace Hotel in the island of Capri.
My adventure started on the morning of July 11th, I took a flight to Naples.
And after having a delicious pizza for breakfast at 10:30 (yes, in Naples you can enjoy pizza that early), I headed to the island by ferry.
I arrived to Capri at midday and I thought I had a lot of free time because the presentation was in the evening.
But suddenly (and fortunately), I received a call from the Rare Champagne team. It was an invitation to join them for an “informal lunch” at the breathtaking terrace of Capri Palace Hotel.
It was the perfect opportunity to meet the world’s most celebrated cellar master, Régis Camus, and discover the incredible story behind the world’s most exclusive Champagne…
The story of Rare Le Secret started with the 1997 harvest, when Régis Camus decided to secretly hide a very limited quantity of Rare Champagne magnum bottles from that exceptional vintage. He didn’t have support or authorization to make a millésime Champagne from that vintage, that’s why he decided not to declare a “secret” batch. And he managed to keep the secret for 20 years while the bottles were silently aging in a secret corner of his private cellar.
In 2017, when Régis Camus was ready to reveal his secret to the world, he contacted Laure-Isabelle, the artistic designer of Mellerio Joaillier, the oldest jeweler in the world… “I have a secret to tell you,” he said. “There’s something in my cellar that no one knows about, and it’s time to drink it.” And that’s how he finally revealed his secret and decided to entrust Mellerio, the decoration of the precious bottles.
The bottles were garnished with an ornamental gold and 110 diamonds bow, inspired by Queen Marie Antoinette’s ribbons.
The connection of the two Maisons with Queen Marie Antoinette?
Well, when Florens-Louis Heidsieck established the house in 1785 with the idea of creating “a cuvée worthy of a queen”, it immediately conquered Queen Marie Antoniette. In the other hand, in 1780, Queen Marie Antoinette purchased a bracelet featuring 7 cameos surrounded by rubies designed by Jean-Baptiste Mellerio, who would come to Versailles to present his jewellery. As a tribute to the comparable royal heritage of both houses, they have joined forces to create Le Secret.
There are two versions of this exclusive limited-edition cuvée: Rare Le Secret Fine Jewellery Edition (only 10 bottles) and Rare Le Secret Goldsmith Edition.
The price of the extremely exclusive fine jewellery edition? Well, it costs around €150,000.
But Rare Le Secret is not only a luxurious bottle of Champagne.. it is a jewel that will last forever!
In fact, the fortunate owners of the 10 magnum bottles of Rare Le Secret can take the bottle to Mellerio house in Paris, and the prestigious house will design a special jewel for them using the diamonds and gold of the bottle’s decoration.
