Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle Brut Champagne NV 75 cl

Product Information

The brand’s vision still runs in the family, since 2010 it has been continued by his daughters Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt and Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt, who accompany the Chairman Stéphane Dalyac and Michel Fauconnet, Cellar Master and Production Manager forming the Laurent-Perrier Management Board. Michel has been at the company for 40 years, progressing from Cellarman in 1974 to assistant Chef de Cave in 1983 until his appointment as Cellar Master in 2004. In September 2019, Laurent-Perrier further strengthened itself with the arrival of Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, Alexandra’s eldest daughter who is representing Grand Siècle worldwide. She is training with the Cellar Master and the Production and Salesforce teams, thus becoming part of Laurent-Perrier’s innovative team. Going well beyond rare vintages, Grand Siècle recreates the perfect year with each new iteration. Laurent-Perrier has, since 1959, launched 24 iterations of Grand Siècle, which perpetuates this wine’s unique style in Champagne each time.

Champagne Laurent-Perrier | Grand Siècle Soleil

But at the same time, the wine is able to maintain a great deal of freshness and vivacity. That is for us, a signature of Grand Siècle. That is what we mean by recreating this perfect year. The blend of high quality allows us to have this richness in terms of aromatic complexity, but at the same time, a lot of freshness is maintained. The Grand Siècle concept was born in 1953 by Laurent-Perrier’s charismatic owner Bernard de Nonancourt who wanted to produce the ‘perfect vintage champagne’, knowing a single year was unlikely to provide that, he blended three great vintages, allowing the creation of his ‘perfect vintage’. The Iteration series is blended from grapes sourced from 11 of the 17 Grand Cru villages in Champagne. Almost too fresh! Hilariously so. Saline, grippy, tense. Of all the older bottles this carried the hallmarks of its younger siblings the most. A delightful caramel note is the only hint that this is over 30 years old.”So he said, ‘in Champagne, we are already good at blending, blending different parcels together, different Grand Cru, but nobody has tried different vintages, exceptional vintages.’ So that’s what we went for.” Just a hint of reductive charm and there is real intensity to the fruit; rich & ripe lemon sherbet, ripe pear, yellow plum and a twist of dried grass. You really see the Chardonnay dominance, 60% and the red fruits are currently quite subdued. The palate is a mix of racy freshness from the acidity and soft texture from its long time on the lees and such lightness and delicacy to finish with a twist of salinity and dosage at 7 g/l seems perfectly integrated. Like many 2008’s this has great purity to the fruit. 65% 2008, 25% 2007 & 10% 2006”

Laurent-Perrier Entdecken unser Champagner Laurent-Perrier

Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, granddaughter of Bernard de Nonancourt who represents Grand Siècle, told the drinks business at a vertical tasting held by Laurent-Perrier that the task in creating the latest iteration was to “recreate the vision of my grandfather”. In October 1948, aged 28, Bernard de Nonancourt was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive of Laurent-Perrier. He was one of the rare owners of a Champagne House to have done all the jobs of his future employees after being a vines labourer, cellar and office worker and a sales representative. Bernard de Nonancourt injected a dynamic momentum into the business. Keen on innovation, strongly attached to champagne traditions and to quality, he forged the commercial culture of Laurent-Perrier and created a renowned brand with a range of unique champagnes. He became President of Laurent-Perrier at the age of 28, in 1948 and held that role for 62 years until he passed away in 2010. Laurent-Perrier has been developing Grand Siècle since 1959, but 2019 was the first year that the iteration number was marked on the bottle.Classic L-P benchmark fragrant gun-powdery toastiness on the nose that opens up with honey, ginger, lemon, lilies and meringue notes. Still reserved and highly youthful in magnum and keeping very fresh and zingy in 75cl bottle too. Lovely evolution and integrated richness on the refined, creamy-caressing palate. A class act.” For Laurent Perrier, the largest export markets for Grand Siècle are Japan, the United States and then the United Kingdom. Marketing director Edouard Cossy replied in this interview that Italy has also become an important market for this wine. When I mentioned to Pereyre that I often travel to Italy, she recommended that I pair Grand Siècle with white truffles on my next visit to Piedmont. That sounds great, Lucie - I will!

Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle NV Champagne - Majestic Wine

The 25th iteration of Laurent-Perrier’s de luxe cuvée, always a blend of different vintages in their quest to make the perfect champagne. Deep gold with the tiniest bead. Very pungently aromatic and with a texture as smooth as silk. Utterly luxurious. Slides over the palate with an undertow of surprisingly ripe Chardonnay. I’d drink this with a sophisticated fish dish, perhaps with a rich sauce. I love the gentlest of explosions on the palate. Surely this has a lower-than-average pressure? Very long. But it is not recommended for those who like their champagne on the austere side. This is to be launched in late 2021 but it tastes as though it was already gorgeous in 2020.”She explained: “Grand Siècle is named after one of the most influential periods in French history – the Great Century – when Louis XIV at Versailles had the vision of how to sublimate nature to create something exceptional – the most illustrative examples being the gardens and fountains. This is the 25 thtime we have recreated the vision of Lucie’s grandfather – the vision of the perfect year. We do believe in the blend – but this is something unique in Champagne.” The first release of Grand Siècle was a blend of wine from the 1952, 1953 and 1955 vintages, and the latest, just released in the past few months, is a blend of the 2006, 2007, and 2008 vintages. As the cuvée can not be labeled a vintage Champagne, as there is fruit from more than one year, the company identifies these wines according to a term known as iteration. I must admit I was not familiar with this word, so I looked up the dictionary definition which is “the repetition of a process.” This each new release of Grand Siècle bears an iteration number; this newest release is Iteration #25.