Grand Siecle par Laurent Perrier
No 26
Champagne NV

The producer

With Laurent Perrier’s growth over the last decade or more it might be easy to overlook the fact that the house, under the late Bernard de Nonancourt introduced innovations that were ground-breaking in their day, and considered almost a requisite today … stainless steel, rose champagne, non-vintage prestige cuvee and more. He also set Laurent Perrier on the path of Chardonnay-dominant cuvees … except the rose which is 100% Pinot Noir. LP’s cuvees also spend longer on lees than most. A Champagne house on the move.

The wine

Laurent-Perrier’s Grand Siècle No 26 epitomizes masterful winemaking, blending 58% Chardonnay and 42% Pinot Noir. This exceptional cuvée marries the excellence of the 2012 vintage with the nuances of 2008 and 2007. Experience aromas of apple crumble, fresh orange zest, and subtle minerals. On the palate, discover a rich, powerful character balanced by precise acidity, unfolding into a complex mid-palate of brioche and luxurious intensity. Its lingering, savory finish speaks volumes of its quality.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.