First Taste: Laurent-Perrier’s Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20

For only the second time since the creation of Grand Siècle, Laurent-Perrier has released a long-aged and late-disgorged version of its prestige cuvée. One that has spent 21 years ageing under cork: the Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20.

It was in 2021 that Laurent-Perrier finally started revealing the individual vintages behind each of the releases of its prestige cuvée Grand Siècle, the same year that it started numbering each new release, or itération, of this flagship wine.

Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, granddaughter of the cuvée’s creator, Bernard de Nonancourt, explains why this rare wine will be released in 2024.

Scroll down to see Anne Krebiehl MW’s tasting note and score for Grand Siècle Les Réserves No 20

Blown away by taste

‘My grandfather wanted to prove that Grand Siècle could age,’ says Pereyre de Nonancourt, ‘he also wanted to observe the effect of long lees ageing on the wine, so he kept some magnums of Grand Siècle undisgorged in his personal reserve cellar.’

‘In 2012, on the bicentenary of the house, my mother Alexandra and aunt Stéphanie wanted to do something special and pay tribute to my grandfather who had died two years before,’ she says. ‘So they went with Michel Fauconnet, then our cellar master, to that personal cellar and found Grand Siècle Itération No. 17 and tasted it. They were blown away. They found primary, secondary and tertiary aromas in the wine.’

Pereyre de Nonancourt notes that this was exactly what her grandfather had aimed for; both freshness and complexity but in an even more heightened fashion. ‘They decided to release these magnums – and for the first time in Laurent-Perrier’s history also Jeroboams – as the personal reserve of my grandfather. This is why they called it Les Réserves.’

That wine had been made from the 1995, 1993 and 1990 vintages, was bottled in 1996 and released in 2012, after 16 years of lees ageing.

Notoriety at last

Pereyre de Nonancourt notes that the quality of Les Réserves Itération No. 17 prompted the family to hold back further magnums for longer ageing and late-disgorged releases. The decision to launch Les Réserves Itération No. 20 now – only the second time in the existence of this wine – is down to timing. ‘Grand Siècle is finally gaining some notorieté and the attention it deserves,’ says Pereyre de Nonancourt.

While Grand Siècle was quietly made with the quality ethos of Bernard de Nonancourt and sold as a prestige cuvée of the house – 26 times since its initial launch in 1959 – it was only in 2021 that Pereyre de Nonancourt and her dedicated team really started telling the story of this wine.

With the release of Les Réserves in magnum, Champagne lovers can now compare the same wine with pre- and post-disgorgement ageing.

A rare artisanal release

Pereyre de Nonancourt did not disclose the exact number of Les Réserves magnums released, as they were aged under cork and disgorged in small batches – which holds the risk of faulty corks. But she notes that the production of Grand Siècle is already limited, and that the magnums held back for late disgorgement are even fewer.

The packaging is special, too. A black and white metal label recalls both the colours of Grand Siècle and the ageing of its base wines in stainless steel, one of the elements that lend it its freshness. Additionally, the cork is secured with a black thread, ‘acknowledging the ancestral know-how,’ says Pereyre de Nonancourt. Each bottle is hand disgorged and hand packaged by a special artisan with this historic skill.

The wine

Grand Siècle Les Réserves Itération No. 20 is based on 60% base wines from the 1999 vintage, 20% from the 1997 vintage and 20% from the 1996 vintage. It is a blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir from eight grands crus: Chardonnay from Avize, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Pinot Noir from Ambonnay, Bouzy, Tours-sur-Marne and Mailly. The magnums were aged on lees under natural cork for 21 years before being disgorged with a dosage of 7g/l.

Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Les Reserves No 20 will be released in May 2024, the retail price is £1,550 per magnum from Hedonism Wines. 

Anne Krebiehl MW’s tasting note and score for Grand Siècle Les Réserves No. 20

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