Champagne Joseph Perrier, Chalons-en-Champagne
Champagne Joseph Perrier, Chalons-en-Champagne
History
One of the only Grand Marque houses that remains family owned and directed, Joseph Perrier have a storied history in the world of British fine wine, suppliers of champagne by royal warrant to Queen Victoria and her son, Edward VII. Operating from 1825, their founder Joseph Perrier purchased a large premises in Châlons-en-Champagne in 1827, the house subsequently accruing their own parcels of vines and now possessed of 23 hectares of holdings on the south facing slopes of the Marne above Epernay. The property purchased by Joseph Perrier is sat on a complex of labyrinthine tunnels, 5 kilometers in length, first cut into the chalk nearly two thousand years ago during the Gallo-Roman period. These cathedral-like vaults of rock provide an enormous cellarage space with even year-round temperatures, the perfect environment for the slow and exact maturation of champagne.
What Decanter says:
“Four Stars, 16.5 / 20. Ripe Pinot fruit, a hint of spice, incisive, Chardonnay-led freshness. More precise thanks to a lowered dosage of 8g/l. Exemplary.” Michael Edwards July 2011.
Winemaking Philosophy
The approach of Joseph Perrier is all about purity and precision – ‘freshness, elegance and balance’ – prizing a low-dosage style that showcases the quality of their base wine and vintage with beautiful transparency. All their cuvees are made through parcel-by-parcel vinification, blended for consistency of character, and subsequently aged for a minimum of 3-5 years. One of their finest single plots, directly to the east of Cumières, is used to produce a terroir champagne, La Côte à Bras, marked by intensity of fruit, length and a distinctive chalky minerality that effortlessly balances its natural concentration. Their flagship NV is fresh, floral and mineral in style, its brightness making it an excellent and versatile gastronomic pairing, as well as a stunning aperitif wine. Characterful and interesting champagne that avoids the anonymity of many other NV Grand Marque bottlings.
Their Wines