Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle: vertical tasting

The quest for perfection in Champagne is not new – the struggle goes back at least to the original Dom Pierre Pérignon in the late 17^th century.

By the middle of the 20th century, several prestige cuvée Champagnes had already been created that still delight wine lovers today, including Cristal, Salon and Dom Pérignon.

Scroll down to see scores and tasting notes for eight versions of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle

The vision

In the 1950s, there was another wave of innovation. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and Bollinger RD were both introduced with the 1952 vintage. However, Bernard de Nonancourt decided to take a different path at the newly revived Laurent-Perrier.

In 1952 he set out to recreate the perfect year. De Nonancourt believed, much as Dom Pérignon had before him, that a Champagne that layers many elements will be superior to one that is not blended. His vision of the ultimate cuvée accordingly blended both grape varieties and vintages.

Passing the baton

The first iteration of Grand Siècle was a blend of 1952, 1953 and 1955. De Nonancourt created this with his original chef de caves, Edouard Leclerc, who retired in 1981 and turned his duties over to Alain Terrier. Terrier, in turn, retired in 2004, handing the baton to Michel Fauconnet, who has been responsible for the creation of the wine since then.

Throughout the tenure of these three chefs de cave, the style of Grand Siècle has remained consistent with de Nonancourt’s vision. Upon his arrival, the base wines were fermented in cask, as they were nearly everywhere. By 1950, however, he had switched to neutral concrete, and by 1973 to stainless steel.

Chardonnay-dominant

The style has always been clean and elegant, and the blend consistently contains more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir, even though Laurent-Perrier is located in the heart of Pinot Noir country in the village of Tours-sur-Marne. The village borders the Marne river, just east of Bisseuil. Although it appears to form part of the Marne Valley, many place it with the Montagne de Reims.

Despite this location, recent version have seen the proportion of Chardonnay vary between 54% and 60%. Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, Bernard’s granddaughter, explains the constituents of Grand Siècle in this way: ‘Always Le Mesnil, Cramant and Avize; sometimes Oger, sometimes Chouilly [for Chardonnay]. Always Ambonnay, Bouzy and Tours sur Marne; sometimes Mailly, Verzenay and Verzy [Pinot Noir].’

Consistent style

The point is not to use the same grape sources each year, but to finesse the blend of grapes and vintages to fulfill her grandfather’s vision and recreate the perfect year. The winemaking itself is meant to fade into the background. Malolactic fermentation is routinely carried out, to soften the wine and give it a luxurious patina. The dosage in recent years has been a moderate 7g/L. The vision has changed remarkably little over the years.

There has been an inevitable adaptation of the length of ageing to accommodate global warming, but the winemaking has barely changed. The most significant change occurred in 2019, when Laurent-Perrier began to display the iteration number on the label so that consumers could appreciate the subtle variations of the cuvée over time.

Current releases

There are two current releases: the 25^th iteration in bottle, and the 23^rd iteration in magnum.

The 25^th iteration has now aged more than a dozen years on the lees. Magnums are usually aged two years longer than bottles since Laurent-Perrier feels that the magnum’s larger ratio of wine to oxygen will age more slowly. The tasting of each of these iterations of de Nonancourt’s vision is a confirmation of his prescience.

True to the goal of a prestige cuvée, Grand Siècle is a wine that can stand the test of time.

Laurent-Perrier: 8 versions of Grand Siècle

Wines are shown by version, in descending order. Iterations 23 and 24 are available in the UK from selected merchants, including The Champagne Company, Hedonism and The Finest Bubble. Iteration 25 is yet to be released to the trade.

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