Pierre Peters
Cuvee de Reserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
NV

The producer

Pierre Péters, one of Champagne’s most renowned growers, specializes in Blanc de Blancs champagnes, which are regarded as some of the finest in the region. The domaine is based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and encompasses 82 plots over nearly 20 hectares of sustainably-managed vineyards. Sixteen of these hectares are located within the Côte des Blancs, primarily in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and other prestigious villages such as Avize, Cramant, Oger, and Vertus.

Rodolphe Péters, the sixth-generation owner, took over the family estate from his father, François, in 2008, having been involved in the blending process since 2000. He initiated the house’s ‘perpetual reserve’ of reserve wines in the late 1990s. A graduate in oenology and business, Rodolphe practices minimal intervention in both the winery and the vineyards, believing that "a good winemaker must listen to his raw materials."

The wine

Crafted from a blend of 2018 Chardonnay sourced from premier villages in the Côte des Blancs, primarily Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, this wine stays in tank on its lees until the spring following the harvest, when the assemblage takes place. At this point, 50% reserve wines are added to the blend. These reserve wines come from Rodolphe Péters' ‘perpetual reserve,’ which was initially established with the 1988, 1990, 1993, and 1996 harvests, although today only a small percentage of those vintages remain. The reserve wines are stored in a mix of large wooden barrels (foudres), concrete vats, and stainless steel tanks.

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.