Champagne Laurent-Perrier - Ultra Brut

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Always delicate and refined, the signature style of Laurent-Perrier champagnes is now characterized by the remarkable maturity and precision of its wines. All the cuvées—starting with La Cuvée, one of the house’s finest bruts—offer the highest levels of elegance and complexity. The entire range is of superb quality and continues to improve. 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 iterations 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 masterful work.

Guide Hachette des vins

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 experienced growth until just after World War I, followed by a period of stagnation after the widow Laurent-Perrier passed away without an heir in 1925. Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, née Lanson, purchased 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 celebrated for its special cuvées.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

This flagship cuvée has a slightly less “seafaring” character; it was among the first to blaze a trail that has since become a veritable highway for winemakers: the path of non-dosé champagnes. The nose offers ripe, pure, and vibrant fruit, with exquisite aromatics. On the palate, the wine is well-structured, carried by delicate bubbles. The fresh, crisp finish is a classic pairing for deep-sea oysters right from the first sip.

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 the vineyard, 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:

The nose features notes of hazelnuts and almond paste. The aromatic profile is more open, with a palette characterized by Chardonnay. The palate is less restrained than in the non-vintage brut, making it more approachable and easier to read.

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 group’s supply. Aromatic, lively, and partially malolactic-fermented, the range has played a major role in the global success of Champagne as an aperitif, in both white and rosé varieties.

James Suckling