Fine Champagne Laurent-Perrier

Today, Laurent-Perrier Champagne is delivered from the village of Tours-sur-Marne (population 1400) to 130 countries, with an annual production of seven million bottles.

Today, the two continue his legacy – a great inheritance. Bernard de Nonancourt was a charismatic figure, an influential ambassador for Champagne. In 1948, at the age of 28, he took over Laurent-Perrier as a small, rather insignificant house with an annual production of 80,000 bottles of Champagne and transformed it into a global brand. Today, from the village of Tours-sur-Marne (population 1,400), they export to 130 countries, employ 400 people, and with an annual production of seven million bottles, they rank fourth among the major Champagne houses. They cultivate 160 hectares of their own vineyards, supplemented by grapes from long-standing suppliers; in total, they process grapes from 1,600 hectares. Despite these impressive figures, the 19th-century buildings, arranged in a U-shape around the cobblestone courtyard, don't resemble a prestigious corporate headquarters, but rather a tranquil family business. A narrow spiral staircase leads up to the rooms where the family lived until the 1980s and where the offices are now located. Black-and-white photos of Bernard de Nonancourt with the Queen hang on the walls, next to a certificate: Laurent-Perrier is a purveyor to Prince Charles. The champagne from Tours-sur-Marne was served at the weddings of Princes William and Harry, something of which they are very proud.

Laurent-Perrier champagne from Tours-sur-Marne was served at the weddings of Princes William and Harry.

Everything appears très classique, but appearances are deceiving. While the historic winery is indeed home to the crayères, cellars so characteristic of Champagne, hewn deep into the chalky soil, where endless, dimly lit corridors still house the classic riddling racks and the wines mature at a constant temperature of nine degrees Celsius, year after year, just a few hundred meters away, the sisters, who now run the estate together with their CEO Stéphane Dalyac and long-time cellar master Michel Fauconnet, have built a state-of-the-art 21st-century winery in recent years. Here, everything from disgorgement to packaging the bottles in cartons is fully automated. They are positioning themselves for the future in the global wine market while continuing to uphold traditional values. The pride in being one of the last great family-owned wineries is always palpable.

“We put the brand in the foreground, not our own personality,” is how Madame puts it.

Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt is a slender, tall woman with that effortless elegance perhaps only French women possess. She studied interior design and created perfume bottles for Dior and Paco Rabanne before joining the family business at the age of 28. She currently lives in Madrid with her husband, an archaeologist, but travels to Champagne almost every week, acting as the company's ambassador. She receives us in a small salon next to her father's former study, which has remained unchanged since his death in 2010. One senses that his innovative spirit continues to shape the house. However, his daughters cultivate a different leadership style. "We put the brand first, not our own personalities," is how Madame puts it. Together with her sister, Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt, who is also active in her husband's real estate business, she focuses on safeguarding what their visionary father created. The two are open to new developments and are observing with interest the growing commitment to biodynamic practices among the region's young winemakers. For their own winery, they are initially pursuing the path of "viticulture raisonnée," a kind of gradual approach to more sustainable viticulture – avoiding chemicals wherever possible. One of the daughters' first major projects was the challenge of redefining the winery's "Brut." Today, the Laurent-Perrier entry-level wine is confidently called "La Cuvée" and is allowed to mature in the bottle for four years instead of the previous three before leaving the cellar.

For their own winery, they are pursuing the path of "viticulture raisonnée," a kind of gradual approach to more sustainable viticulture. Combining tradition and innovation is what the daughters currently see as their main task. Alexandra shows family photos and vividly recounts the history of the house, which—as is so often the case in the region—was shaped by women. It began in 1812 with the cooper Alphonse Pierlot, who became a winemaker and later bequeathed everything to his cellar master, Eugène Laurent. After his death, his widow Mathilde led the company to early glory and confidently added her maiden name, Perrier. The First World War destroyed these business successes. In 1939, Mathilde's daughter sold the badly battered company to the widowed Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, who came from the Lanson Champagne dynasty. The new owner had a plan: she wanted to rebuild the house for her two sons and invested everything she had in this endeavor. Both sons fought in the Resistance; the elder, originally chosen as heir, died in the Oranienburg concentration camp. Now all hopes rested on Bernard, whom his mother subjected to rigorous training upon his return. Harvest helper, cellar worker, administrative employee – he went through all stages of winemaking and marketing. Later, he would benefit from this firsthand knowledge.

The perfect cuvée: A monumental cuvée was born, a kind of golden ratio of champagne.

“My father,” says Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt, “was a great innovator.” In 1959, he had the idea for what is probably the region’s most unusual prestige cuvée: He launched “Grand Siècle” not as a millésime, a vintage Champagne. “Nature,” was his credo, “cannot give us a perfect vintage.” He believed in the art of blending as the core competency of every Champagne house and had his cellar master create the perfect cuvée by hand, blending three great vintages, one of which was always meant to represent structure, one finesse, and one freshness. A monumental cuvée was born, a kind of golden ratio of Champagne. How else could it have been named but after the radiant Grand Siècle, the 17th century, the golden age of France under the reigns of Henry IV, Louis XIII, and the Sun King, Louis XIV? President Charles de Gaulle, a close friend of de Nonancourt, personally approved the name. Chardonnay, the patriarch's favorite grape variety because of its exceptional aging potential, plays the leading role in this cuvée, comprising 55 percent. To not only preserve but also enhance its freshness and elegance, Bernard de Nonancourt introduced the then-uncommon practice in Champagne of aging in stainless steel tanks – wooden barrels, let alone barriques, were no longer permitted. The remaining 45 percent of the cuvée is always Pinot Noir; the third classic grape variety used in most Champagnes, Pinot Meunier, is omitted – too powerful, too robust for the refined character of the "Grand Siècle."

The walls are decorated with a map of Champagne engraved in metal.

How much the style established in 1959 still shapes the character of the house becomes clear in the cellar. There we meet Michel Fauconnet, who has presided over Laurent-Perrier's wines since 2004, only the third cellar master since 1948. Fauconnet, with the house for 30 years, is a legend in the region, a tall, powerful man with a shock of graying black hair. He is considered somewhat reserved, but warms up as soon as he senses genuine interest from his interlocutor. He leads us into the depths of the historic cellar, where the daughters have created a veritable temple to the "Grand Siècle" as the heart of the brand: an ultramodern tasting room, floored in black slate. The walls are adorned with a metal-engraved map of Champagne with its great vineyards, and the wines are tasted standing at a long, gleaming white table. A perfectly straight corridor leads to this room, flanked on both sides by enormous, awe-inspiring stainless steel tanks. Each tank holds 125 hectoliters. Within them, the Laurent-Perrier wines mature separately according to their origin, from which the prestigious blend will later be created; they come from eleven of the seventeen Grand Cru vineyards of Champagne. Small labels on the bottom announce the legendary names of origin: Avize, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for the Chardonnay, Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Mailly for the Pinot Noir. Fauconnet is known for keeping even the slightest trace of oxygen away from his wines: "We don't seek power; oxidation isn't in our vocabulary." The cellar master proudly points out that the massive tanks have not a single weld seam – even that could allow unwanted oxygen to enter, altering the character of the wines.

The wine shines golden in the glass, a scent of honey and croissant rises to the nose, the first sip caresses the palate with a silky-full-bodied flavor.

As if from nowhere, a sommelier appears wearing white cotton gloves and pours the "Grand Siècle." An unusual gurgling sound catches the ear. Its cause is the particularly slender swan neck of the bottle, which Bernard de Nonancourt had modeled after a 16th-century design – further evidence of the attention to detail cultivated in this house. The current blend of the 2004, 2002, and 1999 vintages sparkles into the glass. "Laurent-Perrier produces only half as many vintage wines as the rest of Champagne," emphasizes Fauconnet with audible pride. As cellar master, he decides whether the grapes are suitable for a great vintage or not. The wine shines golden in the glass, a scent of honey and croissant rises to the nose, and the first sip caresses the palate with a silky, full-bodied quality. This prestige cuvée matures for eight years in the standard bottle and ten in the magnum. It offers everything one expects from a fine Champagne: the freshness of 2004, the structure of the great 2002 vintage, the finesse and elegance of the 1999 vintage Champagne. This perfect balance, explains Fauconnet, is a common thread running through all the blends, even if the proportions differ in each cuvée.

A champagne that manages entirely without dosage, i.e., without the addition of sugar?

But what does Fauconnet think of the current trend in the wine world, so widely discussed, towards Brut Nature, a Champagne made entirely without dosage, meaning without added sugar? Instead of an answer, the cellar master uncorks a bottle of "Ultra Brut"—invented by Bernard de Nonancourt in 1981. Only a "wine without makeup" suited the then-burgeoning Nouvelle Cuisine, the head of the house decided at the time. Since then, Laurent-Perrier, practically a pioneer of this now-popular category, has been producing this unpretentious wine, which bubbles across the palate like a fresh breeze. Because nothing can be masked, however, it is only available in particularly good, expressive vintages. The foresight demonstrated by the doyen of the house is evident in other creations that have long since become cornerstones of the portfolio. In 1968, students took to the streets in Paris—in the quiet Champagne region, the long-time president of the winegrowers' association revolted in his own way. He wanted to produce a great rosé and thus bring respect to this type of wine, which at the time was considered inferior because it was often made from the worst grapes. While many rosés in the region are blended from white and red wine, Bernard de Nonancourt opted for a rosé de macération: The wine ferments for a few days on the red grape skins, which give it color and aroma, and is then pressed. Since 1987, Laurent-Perrier has also bottled a rosé Champagne in the best years; "Monsieur Bernard," as he is still known to his employees, named it after his eldest daughter, "Alexandra."

Since 1987, Laurent-Perrier has also bottled a rosé champagne in its best years.

The daughters know they don't possess their father's charisma and cultivate a discreet approach. Unlike him, who loved the limelight, they appreciate a more understated style. Alexandra could also receive her visitors at the family's Château de Louvois; her father bought the 50-hectare estate in 1989 and lived there until his death. But that wouldn't be her style: "I'm not a lady of the manor." She prefers to use the elegant building outside Reims for events and official functions, as it holds symbolic significance: The original structure, destroyed during the Revolution, was built for the Sun King's Minister of War by the same architect as Versailles, and the extensive gardens were designed by the renowned André Le Nôtre, who also designed the gardens of the royal château. Louvois represents the great French tradition to which the family still feels committed. That's why it would never occur to the boss to do what some competitors do: buy vineyards in China, England or the USA and produce sparkling wine there: "That wouldn't be Champagne."

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Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut (non-vintage) - an elegant, fruity, and refreshing cuvée, ideal as a refreshing aperitif and an excellent accompaniment to red fruit desserts. Origin: Tours-Sour-Mano, France. For Bernard de Nonancourt, owner of the Laurent-Perrier Champagne house, this non-vintage Brut is characteristic of the house style. It embodies all the qualities of Laurent-Perrier wines: freshness, elegance, and harmony. A great Champagne to discover the soul of Laurent-Perrier. Only the finest musts are used in its production. Grape variety: 100% Pinot Noir. The grapes come from ten different crus, located primarily in the south and north of the Montagne de Reims – including the renowned Côte de Bouzy – and especially from the best crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois, and Tours-sur-Marne. The grapes from carefully selected plots are sorted and destemmed before pressing.