Charles Heidsieck Champagne has decided to release two vintage cuvees for sale through travel retailer Aelia in Paris.

The arrangement to sell the classic vintages is the first ever struck between a champagne house and an airport retailer, the Drinks Business Reports.

Magnums of Charles Heidsieck Champagne Charlie Vintage 1979 and 1981 will be available exclusively from the Paris Duty Free Grand Cru outlets of Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.

Tasting notes for the 1979 vintage, which is to carry a recommended retail price of €750 (£600), describe it as "old-gold in colour with floral aromas of violets and roses evolving into fruity notes of plums and sultanas".

The champagne industry is currently undergoing something of an evolution, as trade body the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne attempts to encourage winemakers to use lighter bottles.

Slimming the shoulders of the traditional bottle shape would help the sector reduce its carbon emissions, the New York Times was told last month.