Champagne Laurent-Perrier - Ultra Brut

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Always delicate and refined, Laurent-Perrier champagnes are now characterized by remarkable maturity and precision. All cuvées, starting with La Cuvée, one of the house's finest bruts, offer supreme elegance and complexity. The whole range is superb and ascending in quality. The first house to develop a rosé champagne, a pioneering ultra-brut, Laurent Perrier remains and continues to be a benchmark in this category. Cleverly, the famous and brilliant Grand-Siècle cuvée is now identified by numbered iterations that reveal the traditional three years that make up the blend. Alexandra and Stéphanie de Nonancourt and Michel Fauconnet, the distinguished cellar master, continue to pursue this jewel-like craft with passion.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

This famous house, founded in 1812 by 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 the Great War, then fell into lethargy after the death of the widow Laurent-Perrier in 1925, who had no heirs. Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, née Lanson, bought the house in 1939; her son Bernard (1920-2010) restored it to its former glory and turned it into a major group owning renowned brands such as Salon and Delamotte, and famous for its special cuvées.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About wine:

A slightly less maritime character for this benchmark cuvée, one of the first to pioneer a path that has now become a veritable highway among winemakers: that of non-dosage wines. The nose offers ripe, pure and vibrant fruit, perfectly aromatic. On the palate, the wine is structured, carried by a delicate bubble. The fresh and crisp finish is a classic match for open-sea oysters from the outset.

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 key figure in the region who passed away in 2010. He was the founder of the Laurent-Perrier group, which also includes the Castellane, Salon, and Delamotte champagnes. Michel Fauconnet, a member of the board of directors, serves as cellar master and director of vineyards, supplies, and production. The house embodies both tradition and modernity: in 1981, Laurent-Perrier was the first to create a champagne without any 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 wine:

The nose is marked by notes of hazelnuts and marzipan. The aromatic profile is more open, with a palette marked by Chardonnays. The palate is less compressed than the non-vintage brut, making it more pleasing and easier to read.

About the estate:

The Laurent-Perrier group (Delamotte, Salon, De Castellane, Jeanmaire, etc.), the fifth largest Champagne group, was the most innovative during the era of its founder Bernard Nonancourt, who passed away in 2010 and was succeeded by his daughters. The historic cellar master, Michel Fauconnet, guardian of the "L.-P." taste built around Chardonnay, has bowed out. The group's own vineyards cover only 10% of its supplies. Aromatic, lively, and partially malolactically fermented, the range has played a major role in the global success of aperitif champagne, both white and rosé.

James Suckling