Laurent Perrier was founded in 1812 by André Michel Pierlot, former cooper and bottler in Chigny-les-Roses. He bought two plots of vines named ‘Les Plaisances’ and ‘La Tour Glorieux’ from his village Tours-sur-Marne and started his own sparkling wine business.
The Champagne house is conveniently located at the crossroads of the three Champagne growing areas; the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.
The house was passed on to his son and then former cellar master Eugène Laurent. It was Laurent’s widow Mathilde Emilie Perrier who combined the two family names and renamed the Champagne house as ‘Veuve (“widow”) Laurent-Perrier’.
Lauren-Perrier is one of the pioneers to produce drier-style Champagne, even at the time when sweetness was more appreciated in the traditional fizz. In 1889, the house launched a sugar-free ‘Grand Vin sans Sucre’ to the pleasure of British drinkers. The low-to-zero-dosage style of Champagne was more than a century ahead of its time, when ‘Brut Nature’ became a fashion nowadays.
In 1939 the House was sold to the de Nonancourt family and Madame de Nonancourt passed control of the House to her son Bernard in 1948. Bernard re-launched the zero-dosage style in 1981. Try the Ultra Brut Laurent-Perrier for £38.99 on Ocado.
The estate is now exporting to more than 160 countries worldwide, known for a house style of freshness, finesse and elegance.
Our top recommendations for this Cyber Monday is the Laurent-Perrier 2008 Vintage Champagne. Available at just £39 on Waitrose, £13 off its original price.
Decanter’s Simon Field MW noted the 2008 vintage to be ‘generous of colour and with forward toasty aromas. The wine is thereafter softer, more refined and elegant, with grapefruit notes ceding to a bed of dried almonds and summer flowers.’
More Cyber Monday Laurent-Perrier Champagne deals
Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée
It’s a deliciously indulgent aperitif – especially because it’s excellent with canapés.
£44.99 Now £24.99 when Mix Six on Majestic
Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose Brut NV
Intensely fruity flavours, clean, well-defined and slightly sharp
£60.00 Now £53.95 on Amazon.co.uk