Champagne Laurent-Perrier - Grand Siècle

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Round and full-bodied, with charming fruitiness, floral notes, and a finish that is both delicate and lingering. The finish is velvety and utterly refined.

About the estate:

Always delicate and refined, the signature style of Laurent-Perrier champagnes is now characterized by remarkable maturity and precision in the wines. All the cuvées, starting with La Cuvée—one of the house’s finest bruts—are presented with supreme elegance and complexity. The entire range is of superb and ever-rising quality. As the first house to develop a rosé champagne very early on—a pioneering ultra-brut—Laurent-Perrier remains a benchmark in this category. Cleverly, the famous and brilliant Grand Siècle cuvée is now identified through numbered editions that reveal the traditional three vintages comprising the blend. Alexandra and Stéphanie de Nonancourt, along with Michel Fauconnet, the distinguished cellar master, passionately continue this jewel-like work.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

The house’s most prestigious cuvée, crafted as a masterpiece of blending. For this cuvée, we blend Chardonnay (approximately 55%) and Pinot Noir, combining great terroirs (11 Grand Crus, such as Bouzy, Ambonnay, and Mailly for the reds, and Avize, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for the whites) and vintages (always three vintages). After aging for at least seven years, this cuvée boasts a lively effervescence with fine bubbles; it offers an open nose of fruit, smoke, and toasted almond, as well as a taut, long finish with notes of lemon and sea salt. A champagne that deserves careful tasting. It is equally suited as an aperitif or with a meal.

About the estate:

This famous house, founded in 1812 by the cooper André-Michel Pierlot, combines the surnames of Mathilde Perrier and her husband Eugène Laurent, the cellar master who took over the business. It expanded until the aftermath of World War I, then fell into decline after the death of the widow Laurent-Perrier in 1925, who left no heir. Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, née Lanson, bought the house in 1939; her son Bernard (1920–2010) restored its former glory and turned it into a major group owning renowned brands such as Salon and Delamotte, and celebrated for its special cuvées.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the estate:

Founded in 1812 in the village of Tours-sur-Marne, the house enjoyed its heyday under the leadership of Bernard de Nonancourt, a prominent figure in the region who passed away in 2010. He was the founder of the Laurent-Perrier group, which also includes the champagnes of Castellane, Salon, and Delamotte. Michel Fauconnet, a member of the executive board, serves as cellar master and director of vineyards, procurement, and production. The house embodies both tradition and modernity: as early as 1981, Laurent-Perrier was the first to create a champagne with no dosage (“Ultra Brut”), and currently offers its highly successful non-dosage blanc de blancs. The “Grand Siècle” cuvée is one of the finest in the region.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

A blend of three vintages, Grand Siècle offers a lovely winey character and beautiful complexity with notes of dried fruit.

About the estate:

The Laurent-Perrier Group (Delamotte, Salon, De Castellane, Jeanmaire, etc.), the fifth-largest Champagne producer, was the most innovative during the era of its founder, Bernard Nonancourt, who passed away in 2010 and was succeeded by his daughters. The longtime cellar master, Michel Fauconnet, guardian of the “L.-P.” style built around Chardonnay, has stepped down. The estate’s own vineyards account for only 10% of the supply. Aromatic, lively, and partially malolactic-fermented, the range plays a major role in the global success of aperitif champagne, in both white and rosé.

Wine Enthusiast

About the wine:

Laurent-Perrier has always preferred to keep its prestige cuvée as a non-vintage blend. With eight years of aging after bottling and a significant proportion of reserve wines in the blend, it is a mature wine with an energetic, toasty character. To top it all off, the superb grapes used in this blend come exclusively from Grand Cru vineyards. It is ready to drink.

James Suckling