In what now seems to be years ago, on March 9th, I had one of my most favorite days that I have ever had on any of the trips that I have made to Champagne. Not simply because I was finally visiting one of my favorite Champagne houses but, because of the experience itself. I experienced one of the most memorable, informative, and personal days ever in this region of the world. The Champagne house that I am referring to is Laurent Perrier. Like many of you, I have enjoyed their bubblies for many, many years, and, in the last couple of years, they have reinvented themselves with new and re-released Grand Siecle blends. More on that later.

It turned out to be one of our very few non-rainy days of our trip by the time we arrived in the mid-afternoon. That was treat #1: seeing the sun on a mostly cloudless and increasingly warm day. We were greeted by Ambassador Nicole Snozzi. Nicole has been with LP for over thirty years, if I remember correctly. She simply knows everything about everything Laurent Perrier. We were then taken down into the cellar, first to the tank rooms, on our way to the new Grand Siecle salon and tasting room, which is state of the art. I have been to some pristine cellars in my life, but the LP cellar was just “wow.” Nothing else describes it. Once in the Grand Siecle salon, it was a great pleasure to meet the new Chef de Cave, Dominque Demarville, which was a special treat. I had read about him previously, that he is regarded as a great winemaker and an extremely nice person, as well. He is. Both.

After learning about their winemaking methods, as well as types of sugar added for fermentation(s), we began our tasting. As many of you know, they have their brand-spanking new NV Blanc de Blanc, which was our jumping-off point. Based on the 2012 vintage, it is creamy, with lemon meringue and lemon cream flavors, which are helped along by an extremely fine acidity and linear finish. Off to a great start! We then tasted two vintage Bruts, the 2008 and the 2007. So nice to have these side by side. The 2008 spent 10 years on the lees and has a lower dosage at 7g/l. It had lovely apricot, lemon curd, light toast, and just a hint of melted butter, with lively citrus and whipping cream flavors on the finish. The 2007, in contrast, was very round, with dark cherry and nut flavors. The Pinot Noir shines through on this vintage. Creamy and round, with a very nice finish chock full of saline. While everyone goes ga-ga over the 2008s, there are many 2007s that should not be overlooked, and this is one of them. Next, we had another side by side tasting, with Grand Siecle Iteration 24 Brut and Grand Siecle Iteration 22 Brut. The Iteration 24 is a blend of the 2004, 2006, and 2007 vintages. The Iteration 22 is a blend of 2004, 2002, and 1999 vintages. The 24 had a great nose of nougat, malt, and lightly roasted nuts. The 22 had a nose of caramel, peach, oranges, and cream. On the palate, the 24 was silky smooth, creamy and light, with a very fine bead. The 22 had greater acidity, more citrus, and that LP signature of cream. A little bit of saline and oyster shell at the back of the tongue. Both are wonderful and completely different.

Looking from Grand Siècle Salon into tank room.

To finish, alas, we had the 2004 Cuvee Alexandra Brut Rose. I say “alas” as a joke because this has always been one of my favorite Champagnes…ever. It was disgorged at the end of 2018 and is a very dark orange color. Super fragrant nose of rose petals and orange marmalade, with black cherries. On the palate, cherry liqueur, candied oranges, and baking spices. It really is just magnificent. After this tasting, Nicole took us on an extensive tour of the cellars where the bottles are being aged, and I went quite crazy taking pictures. What you see here are just a few. Toward the end of the cellar, we came across original bottlings of the FIRST Grand Siecles, just covered in spider webs. This kind of thing just fascinates me because it means that nobody has fiddled with the wines or disturbed them. They are just left in their happy slumber to be awakened some day.

Prior to leaving for this trip, I was sent an invitation to dine at the Château of Laurent Perrier, Château Louvois. Please Google it and you will get an idea of what it looks like. I only took two very quick pictures of the outside of the château because I did not want to be some hoo-hah taking pictures of my food and someone’s home during an intimate dinner. More on that, in a bit.

After our tour and tasting at LP, we were invited to a private room to have a glass of Grand Siecle and to relax and chat for a little while before departing. This we did, and then returned to our hotel for a catnap, shower, and opportunity to change out of our grubby clothes. In my case, complete with rain boots. Before changing, that is. A car, with a super friendly and personable driver, picked us up to bring us to Ch. Louvois. Once we arrived, the front door was opened by Stephanie and Lucie de Nonancourt. Wow. Greeted by owners, yet. I certainly did not expect that. Once introductions were made, we went into an elegant and very comfortable salon, where we enjoyed more of the Grand Siecle Iteration No. 22, out of the magnum. Not a bad start!

Mags and Jerobaums aging. Water in floor from water that has come through ground above and chalk ceiling.

We discussed the Grand Siecle program, which is, frankly, a very interesting story and the type of “shop talk” that I like. From there, we had more personal conversations about what we do and how we became involved in Champagne. My interest in the region began when I read “Wine and War,” a large part of which is about Bernard de Nonancourt, Stephanie’s father. This is one of the reasons why it was such a special event for me to be here, in the home of this family and actually talking with the family of a so famous and fascinating man.

After enjoying our Grand Siecle No. 22, we were ushered into an intimate and elegant dining room that, like the salon, was comfortable and unpretentious as well. At each place setting was an embossed card with our names and the menu on it. It was here that I saw my favorite French word: Saint-Jacques. It was combined with a favorite Spanish word: Ceviche. I have yet to meet a scallop or a ceviche that I didn’t like. Happy, happy, joy, joy! It even comes before two of my other favorite French words, and Gary’s favorites: Pommes Frittes. In any case, with the ceviche, there was a very special treat of the Grand Siecle Iteration No. 21. Is this meal going to get any better? Can it? Yes, it can!

Course two was a beef filet with mushroom and potato. For this course—I’m still carrying on about this one—we had Hermitage La Chapelle, 1985, from Paul Jaboulet, out of a magnum. I think my eyes actually fell out of their sockets. This choice was very unexpected and I just love Northern Rhône wines—what an absolute treat. It was tasting magnificently! We carried this bottling into the cheese course, to my good fortune. Dessert was a wonderful (and healthy!) fruit salad with the world famous and super popular Laurent Perrier NV Brut Rose. I’m generally not a dessert guy. I much prefer the cheese courses, so this light and delicious dessert was a perfect finish. As perfect and wonderful as the food and wine were, it was matched by the company. Stephanie and Lucie are just awesome. We talked about so many things other than Champagne and wine: politics, economics, world news with a nice dash of fun and silly things.

From here it was back to the salon and an offering of Armagnac, Grand Marnier, um, that special Chartreuse (yellow, I think, I could be so very wrong about that), and other things, as well, as cigars. I declined them all, as I was in a good space and didn’t want to go past that space. I did smell the Armagnac, however, and it smelled delicious…rich, honeyed, and smooth. If that makes sense. It’s the only way I can describe it…no harsh or sharp scents. Before leaving, Stephanie and Lucie gifted Gary and I with a signed copy of “Nonancourt-Prince of Champagne,” a biography of Bernard and Laurent-Perrier, complete with family tree. I was totally blown away by this personal and thoughtful gift. Something I will treasure forever. I am currently reading it and am being very careful not to bend the pages. This meal and visit, along with our tour and tasting sums up the Laurent Perrier philosophy and the people associated with it: personable, warm, elegant, and of the highest quality. As I stated before, this will always be one of my favorite experiences in Champagne.

As I write this, after two weeks in a precautionary quarantine, after our return from Champagne, I’m taken aback that it was relatively recently that I had this day. It seems so long ago, in a different world. I will use this experience to keep myself positive and looking forward to a future in which we will emerge wiser and stronger. To those of you reading this blog, I hope that you are healthy and taking the necessary measures to protect yourselves. At some day, in the fairly near future, I look forward to raising a glass of something Laurent Perrier with customers in our tasting bar. A big thank you for supporting our Champagne program and don’t forget that we are here, if you need us.

Best wishes,

- Scott Beckerley

The Perfect Day: A Visit to Laurent Perrier

K&L Wine Merchants

www.klwines.com