A Long Legacy of Perfection from Laurent-Perrier
For as long as I have worked at K&L—20+ years—Laurent-Perrier has been a favorite Champagne of both our customers and our staff. Six years ago, I had the opportunity to go into the deep cellars of Laurent-Perrier to see the oldest blends of the Grand Siecle, including the first bottling, released in 1959. It was composed of juice from the vintages 1952, 1953, and 1955. It also contained juice from 11 of the 17 Grand Cru villages in Champagne and sat for 10 years on the lees. This formula carries through to this day.
The newest bottling is the Laurent-Perrier "Grand Siècle" Iteration #26 Brut Champagne $249.99 100JS 98JD 97WE 96DC 96JG 96WA 96VN. It is a combination of 65% 2012 vintage, 25% 2008, and 10% 2007 vintage. The blend is 58% Chardonnay and 42% Pinot Noir. The fruit comes from eight Grand Cru villages. The dosage is a lower 7 grams per liter. The great thing about the Grand Siecle line is that it is never heavy-handed or super weighty on the palate. It trends toward the brighter and creamier aromatic profile, with scents of white flowers, white peach, orange, lemon cream, and sea salt. Palate-wise, it is superbly creamy and medium-bodied. There are delicious flavors of white peaches, lemon tart, puff pastry with whipped cream, chalk, and a fine, lightly smokey finish. It comes as no surprise that this one sits at 96-100 points with all the major critics. As with previous iterations, it will age for decades in the cellar, if so desired. Seeing the cobweb-covered original iterations from the 1950s and 1960s was a real treat and a testament to how long these bottlings will age. It is, of course, perfectly fine to enjoy it today!
One of the newest additions to the line of Laurent-Perrier bubbles is the Laurent-Perrier "Héritage" Brut Champagne $104.99. It was hugely popular here during the Holiday Season of 2025. It is a blend of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. Dosage is even lower than the Grand Siecle at 6 grams per liter. It is a blend of the vintages 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019. It sat for an extra four years on the lees. In similar fashion to the Grand Siecle, it also has citrus, light smoke, and pastry scents and flavors. Where it differs is in the stone fruit component, which is more prevalent here: a tad more apricot and fresh honey. It is also firm and complex. There are more toasty flavors and roasted white nut flavors than Grand Siecle. You can clearly see that it is inspired by the history and style of the Grand Siecle, but it is its own being. As it is a new release, it will be fun to see how it progresses in the cellar as it will age well. Perhaps not as long as the Grand Siecle, but it should easily keep for a decade or so. As is the case with the Grand Siecle, it is also completely enjoyable now.
As Valentine’s Day closes in, many thoughts go toward Rosé. The forever popular Laurent-Perrier "Cuvée Rosé" Brut Rosé Champagne $89.99 94WE (and in magnum at $189.99) is always in our hearts, no pun intended. I’m pretty sure that it is the only 100% Pinot Noir offering from Laurent-Perrier. It contains fruit from ten Grand Cru villages. It is one of these wonderful “saignee”-style Rosé bubbles with extended skin contact with the juice—three days, to be exact. The nose is all dark raspberry and strawberry with an underpinning tart red fruit scents. Like the non-Rosé offerings, this one also has the orange and tangerine scents of its sibling wines. On the palate, it is a bit fleshier, with flavors of cherries and a creamy mousse. This gives way to crunchy red fruits, light bits of citrus, including oranges, and black raspberry. Many “saignee” offerings tend to be very rich and can have a relatively tannic background. These bottlings are at their best, in my view, with food. Even steak. The Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé is more complex and has elements of that richer style, but it smartly plays its hand with that undercurrent of crunch and pure acidity. Very nicely done! Completely enjoyable by itself or paired with a main course. A pork chop would be nice!
So, here are my favorites from Laurent-Perrier and don’t forget that all of our locations will be having a Champagne Brut Rosé tasting on Valentine’s Day!