Champagne Laurent Perrier

History of Champagne Laurent-Perrier

It all began in 1812 when André-Michel Pierlot, a former cooper and bottler, settled in Tours-sur-Marne as a wine merchant dealing in Champagne wines, on the plots known as Les Plaisances and La Tour Glorieux. His son Alphonse succeeded him but, having no descendants, passed the house on to his cellar master, Eugène Laurent. The latter died prematurely in 1887 and his widow, Mathilde-Émilie Perrier, took the reins by adding her surname to that of her husband: the Maison Veuve Laurent-Perrier was born. A woman of character and already visionary, she launched as early as 1889 a "fine wine Without Sugar", a very lightly dosed champagne intended for a British clientele fond of dry wines, an intuition that would inspire the creation of Ultra Brut a century later.

After Mathilde's passing in 1925, her daughter Eugénie-Hortense inherited a reputable but weakened house, which she sold in 1939. Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, née Lanson, a widow and mother of four children, then acquired the estate, which had only a few thousand bottles remaining. Her eldest son Maurice took over the management before falling in combat in 1945. It was his brother Bernard, a resistance fighter returned from the front, who fulfilled the destiny of the house: trained from vine to cellar, he assumed the presidency in 1948 when it employed around twenty people and sold 80,000 bottles. Over half a century, the man the trade nicknamed "le Grand Bernard" made it one of the foremost Champagne houses in the world and founded a group that also includes De Castellane, Salon and Delamotte. Having passed away in 2010, he left behind a house listed on the stock exchange in 1999 but still controlled by his family, where Alexandra and Stéphanie de Nonancourt, followed by Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, today perpetuate the pioneering spirit of the origins. Olivier Vigneron succeeded Michel Fauconnet as head of the cellars in 2025.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Laurent-Perrier

The geographical position of Tours-sur-Marne is a rare asset: the village sits at the exact meeting point of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, which has allowed the house to build a supply network of exceptional diversity. Laurent-Perrier cultivates approximately 150 hectares of its own vineyards and relies on a network of more than 1,200 partner hectares, spread across several hundred villages, whose average rating significantly exceeds that of the appellation. This mosaic allows the house to select, cru by cru and plot by plot, the wines that match its style, and to have privileged access to the seventeen Grands Crus of Champagne for its great cuvées.

Chardonnay occupies a central place in the identity of the house. Sourced primarily from the chalky slopes of the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly), it brings the freshness, tension and floral finesse that define the Laurent-Perrier style. Pinot noir, grown on the grand crus of the Montagne de Reims such as Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzy, Verzenay and Mailly, as well as at Tours-sur-Marne, provides the structure, vinosity and red fruit intensity essential to Cuvée Rosé and Alexandra. Meunier, planted in the Vallée de la Marne on more clay-rich soils, completes certain blends by contributing roundness and immediate fruitiness. The chalk subsoil, a natural thermal regulator and water reserve, imparts to the wines that characteristic salinity and mineral straightforwardness. The house holds the Haute Valeur Environnementale certification and the Viticulture Durable en Champagne certification, a concrete expression of a long-term commitment to biodiversity, the reduction of inputs and carbon footprint.

Winemaking at Champagne Laurent-Perrier

The Laurent-Perrier style rests on a deliberate technical choice that long went against the grain: vinification entirely in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, with no oak ageing whatsoever. Bernard de Nonancourt was one of the first in Champagne to invest massively in stainless steel, convinced that the neutrality of the material and the control of temperatures would better preserve the aromatic purity of the grape. Only the first-press juices, the finest, are retained. After careful settling, each cru and each grape variety ferments separately, before malolactic fermentation is carried out to bring suppleness, roundness and stability over time.

Then comes the masterful step: the blending. The house has a palette of several dozen crus and a substantial reserve of wines from previous years, incorporated at a rate of 10 to 20% in the non-vintage bruts to guarantee consistency of style. Cuvée Rosé is the subject of a specific and rare expertise in Champagne, maceration: the pinot noir grapes are sorted, destemmed, then placed in vats, with the juice being pumped back over the marc every eight hours for 48 to 72 hours before the remaining berries are separated and pressed. The ageing on lees is deliberately long, often more than double the appellation minimums: approximately four years for La Cuvée, five years for Cuvée Rosé, at least three years for Harmony, seven to ten years for the Brut Millésimé, and more than a decade for Grand Siècle and Alexandra. The dosages, finally, remain measured, around 8 grams per litre for the bruts, 7 grams for Grand Siècle, and zero for the Brut Nature cuvées.

The cuvées of Champagne Laurent-Perrier

La Cuvée Brut: the house's signature and its best-known entry point. A blend of around fifty crus with a strong chardonnay dominance (approximately 55%), complemented by pinot noir and a touch of meunier, with a significant proportion of reserve wines. Aged for approximately four years in the cellars, it displays a very pale golden colour, a delicate nose of citrus, white flowers, peach and brioche, and a fresh, crystalline and elegant palate with a lemony finish. A champagne of excellence as an aperitif, equally perfect with fish and seafood.

Ultra Brut: unveiled in 1981, it is the direct heir to the "fine wine Without Sugar" of 1889 and the champagne that revived the Brut Nature category before it even officially existed. Composed of approximately 55% chardonnay and 45% pinot noir from more than a dozen crus, it is only produced in years where ripeness allows the dosage to be dispensed with entirely. The result is a champagne of absolute purity, taut and saline, with notes of white grapefruit, honeysuckle and dried flowers, magnificent with oysters, sushi, ceviche or jamón pata negra.

Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature: launched in 2019, this 100% non-dosé chardonnay extends the house's vocation for wines without artifice. Sourced from the finest chalky slopes of the Côte des Blancs and enriched with a fine proportion of reserve wines that give it volume, it unfolds a floral and saline nose, a palate of great precision, vertical and mineral, and a finish of remarkable length. A gastronomic blanc de blancs, chiselled and ethereal.

Cuvée Rosé: created in 1968 in its iconic bottle bearing the LP crest, it has become the world reference for rosé champagne. Produced 100% from pinot noir sourced from around ten crus, by skin maceration for 48 to 72 hours, it offers a colour ranging from raspberry to salmon hues, a nose of extraordinary freshness blending raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry and black cherry, and a frank, tangy, supple and indulgent palate. The house regularly offers limited-edition dress versions, such as the Pétales or Rubans designs, highly sought after by collectors.

Harmony Demi-Sec: the most elegant demi-sec in its category, carried by an unusually high proportion of chardonnay, complemented by pinot noir and meunier from more than fifty crus. Aged for a minimum of three years, more than double the appellation average, it presents a dosage of around 40 grams per litre that is perfectly integrated. The nose evokes ripe peach, apricot and biscuit; the palate is full, generous and unctuous without heaviness. Ideal with fruity desserts, foie gras and sweet-savoury pairings.

Brut Millésimé: produced only in great years, it blends in equal parts the chardonnay from the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs and the pinot noir from the Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims. After seven to ten years of ageing on lees before disgorgement, it reveals a brilliant golden colour, a complex nose of ripe white fruits, acacia honey, dried fruits and buttery brioche, and a vinous, full and long palate with fine ageing potential. A champagne for the table, perfect with roasted poultry or fish in sauce.

Grand Siècle Itération: born in 1959 from an idea by Bernard de Nonancourt, the house's prestige cuvée is the only one in the world that is not vintage-dated. Its philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: to blend the best with the best in order to recreate what nature will never give, the perfect year. Each numbered Itération marries three exceptional vintages with complementary profiles, sourced exclusively from Grands Crus. Itération N°26 thus brings together 2012 (65%), 2008 (25%) and 2007 (10%), on a base of approximately 58% chardonnay and 42% pinot noir from a selection of Grands Crus such as Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzy, Mailly and Tours-sur-Marne. After around ten years in the cellars, it unfolds candied lemon, fresh hazelnut, honeysuckle, pastry and roasted almonds, on a silky and mineral palate of great length. Itération N°27, built notably around 2015, continues this pursuit of aromatic intensity combined with freshness.

Grand Siècle Les Réserves: an exceptionally rare expression born of the desire to allow an Itération to continue its evolution at the heart of the cellars of Tours-sur-Marne. These bottles, kept for more than twenty years before late disgorgement, offer a second reading of an already familiar blend, with deeper tertiary aromas of candied fruits, roasting and gentle spices, a velvety texture and an intact freshness that testifies to the extraordinary ageing potential of the cuvée.

Alexandra Rosé Millésimé: created in 1987 by Bernard de Nonancourt for the wedding of his daughter Alexandra, this Grande Cuvée Rosé has been declared in only a handful of vintages since its inception. It blends 80% pinot noir from the Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims (Ambonnay, Bouzy, Mailly, Verzenay) and 20% chardonnay from the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger), with a unique elaboration: the two grape varieties macerate together, which exalts the purity of the fruit. The 2012 vintage displays a deep blood-orange colour with very fine bubbles, a complex nose of crushed strawberries, and a rich and warm palate with aromas of red fruits, extended by a bitter orange finish. After more than ten years in the cellar, it pairs beautifully with caviar, noble fish and delicate meats.