It was quite a coup and an event at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan as Constance Delaire, the Chief Oenologist and Winemaker at Laurent Perrier was hosting three tasting sessions at the wine shop and then an additional tasting at Vertical Detroit, the store’s restaurant in Downtown Detroit.  It was Ms. Delaire’s first time in Detroit, as well as in the United States of America.

Laurent-Perrier was founded in 1812.  The house style is known for its finesse and elegance, with emphasis on Chardonnay, except for the rosé wines.  The success is attributed to a widow, Mathilde Emilie Perrier, who along with cellarmaster Eugene Laurent and his wife Perrier when they were given control of the company by the original founder.  After his death in 1887, they changed the name.  In 1939 Laurent-Perrier was sold to the Nonancourt family until his death, and it is now the Laurent-Perrier Group.  The Laurent-Perrier Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature Champagne NV is pure Chardonnay from Crus in Cotes de Blancs and Montagne de Reims.  The grapes are chosen for a high potential degree and a low acidity, to achieve the desired balance without the addition of any dosage.  The wine is aged for eight years.  The wine is the color of white gold with persistent tiny bubbles and offered notes of apples, pears, white florals and bread dough.  On the palate this medium-bodied well-balanced wine displayed tones of citrus and zests, a velvety texture and long-count dry finish of lemon and minerality.

Laurent-Perrier is known for their development of reserve wine, both for freshness, ageing potential and aromatic expression.  This art began with Bernard de Nonancourt who wanted to create the perfect year, each year.  The house maintains up to thirty percent of their reserve wines and blends from over a hundred Crus of Chardonnay, of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier to create Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut Champagne NV; formerly called Brut Non-Vintage. The blending each year averages out to about fifty percent Chardonnay, thirty-five percent Pinot Noir and fifteen percent Pinot Meunier.  The different wines are aged in Stainless-Steel tank and aged for about four years, and eventually in the Classic Method, there is a dosage of eight grams per liter.  A pale golden-colored wine with constant streams of very fine bubbles that offer notes of apples, pears, peaches and apricots along with white florals, lemon and lime zest, fresh baked bread, spices and a touch of minerality.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-structured slightly “chewy” wine displayed tones of peaches, pears, buttery brioche with a silky feel that ends with a medium-long- count finish of white fruit, lemongrass, pepper, ginger and some chalky minerality.

One of the unique aspects of Laurent-Perrier is that they have thousands of bottles stored in eleven kilometers of cool, humid cellars under the house at Tours-sur-Marne, waiting for their eventual disgorgement and release.  We now were going to taste Laurent-Perrier “Héritage” Brut Champagne NV.  “Heritage” evolved from the creation of Grand Siècle, which is a complex blend of several vintages from the best Crus of Champagne and two grape varieties: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  The wine is a blend of fifty-five percent Chardonnay and forty-five percent Pinot Noir, which came from forty Crus of which fifty percent were Grand Crus; and the wines had to have at least four years minimum aging.  The dedicated reserve wines were stored in Stainless-Steel vats, with each cru and varietal stored separately at low temperature, to preserve freshness and purity while preventing oxidation.  The dosage levels for the wines were six grams per liter.  This new Héritage was disgorged in the Spring of 2023 and therefore had been aged for just over thirty-six months on its lees.  The blending of vintages is: 30% 2019, 30% 2018, 20% 2016 and 20% 2014.  This yellow-golden colored wine with continuous fine bubbles offered notes of peach, apricot, pear, and lemon zest, along with white florals, beeswax, and toasted almonds.  On the palate this full-bodied, fresh and elegant wine displayed tones of stone fruits, flowers, honey, yeast and a wonderful mousse, blending with that ethereal flavor of petrichor (a wonderful word for a Spring soft morning rain) and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, lemon zest, honey, yeast, and subtle terroir.