Champagne Laurent Perrier is located 30 minutes outside of Reims in the Grand Cru village of Tours-sur-Marne. The house creates champagnes that are fresh, elegant and full of finesse with a focus on reductive winemaking (the absence of oxygen). The purity of the fruit is captured with every sip.

History

Champagne Laurent Perrier was founded in 1812 by André Michel Pierlot and the widow Mathilde Perrier took over and added her name to the house. The house was sold to Marie-Louise Lanson de Nonancourt in 1925, and she ran the house while her sons were fighting in WWII. After the war, her son Bernard began learning the winemaking process and the business and became the CEO in 1948. Bernard started learning about champagne at Lanson to understand and learn the skills necessary to succeed. The Laurent-Perrier style of elegance, freshness and finesse was established under Bernard. The house has been a leader in the champagne industry creating one of the first rosé champagnes and the Ultra Brut (Brut Nature) style before the styles were en vogue. The house ensures the quality of the grapes by working with the same families of growers year after year. This ensures Laurent Perrier gets the grapes that have the characteristics that they need to ensure the house style is maintained in each cuvée. The relationship with the growers is extremely important for Laurent Perrier as they own 10% of the grapes that are needed to produce their champagnes.

Visit in Tours-sur-Marne

My visit to Champagne Laurent Perrier began in the cellars and highlighted the Champagne region and the history of the house. The house used to use barrels for the primary fermentation and once stainless steel tanks were invented the house switched over all of the winemaking to the stainless steel tanks and created the reductive house style. This style of winemaking limits the amount of oxygen that comes in contact with the wine. It keeps the champagnes fresh and fruity. The quality of the fruit must be maintained to ensure the success of this style. In addition to the stainless steel tanks, the house had concrete tanks that were also used. The cellars contained the oldest bottles that were used in the 1800’s as well as the evolution of the Grand Siècle bottle which was great to see. The house also still has riddling racks for winemaking known as the pupitres which are A-shaped wooden frames.

Tasting

After the tour in the cellar, we came back up to do a tasting in order to walk through the cuvées of the house. The house style is all about Chardonnay and is focused on blending. With the right blending you do not need to add as much dosage is the philosophy of the house. The cellar master, Michel Fauconnet, is the third cellar master of the house and has spent his entire career at Laurent Perrier.

The tasting included the Ultra Brut, La Cuvée, Cuvée Rosé, Vintage 2008 and Grand Siècle No. 24. The Ultra Brut is the first zero dosage champagne that became available which means that there is no sugar added. This is a tough style to make and the focus is on the quality and the ripeness of the grapes that are used in the blend in order to find the balance of low acidity and maturity. The blend is 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. This would pair perfectly with sushi.

We then went on to taste La Cuvée. La Cuvée is made with the cuvée or the juice of the first press which is the finest. The blend has over 50% Chardonnay, +30% Pinot Noir and 10 - 20% Meunier. It is fruity and delicate and can hold up to chicken.

Cuvée Rosé is fruity and fresh. This is one of my favorite rosés and it was created before the category was popular in 1968. The rosé is 100% Pinot Noir and made from Grand Cru fruit. The grapes sit on their skins to extract the color anywhere from 48 to 72 hours depending on the harvest. This process of maceration is known as the saignée method. Aromas and flavors of red fruit dominate: strawberry, raspberry and even some black cherry. This one would go great with duck or even Thai food!

We then went on to try the 2008 Brut Millésimé which is 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir from Grand Cru villages. This is an exceptional vintage with mineral and chalky notes, apple, pear, and citrus. This would stand up well to veal. If you see this champagne I recommend buying some bottles as it is exceptional quality at a great price.

The tasting concluded with my favorite champagne of the house, Grand Siècle, the prestige champagne of Laurent Perrier. This is 100% Grand Cru made with 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. This is one of the few prestige cuvées that is not from one vintage year. Laurent Perrier blends three complementary vintage years in order to create the perfect year. This is a blend of 2007, 2006 and 2004 vintages. It is aged for 8 -10 years on the lees. The tertiary flavors shine with fresh pastry, grilled almonds and honey. This is a full body champagne that can stand up to lobster and steak dinner. I absolutely love this champagne and it is still available and now with a great Sun King jacket.