Belle Epoque: the Cuvée with anemones

Vintage 2013 of this iconic Champagne from Perrier-Jouët is now on the market.

When the famous artist Emile Gallé was commissioned in 1902 to produce an exclusive Champagne bottle for Perrier-Jouët, the Epernay Maison had just marked its 90th anniversary. It was founded, in fact, by Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adelaide Jouët in 1811, the Year of the Great Comet, and their first Cuvée was dedicated to this event.

At the time, Champagne was much sweeter than it is today, due to a higher “dosage” of a liqueur d’expedition, but this changed in the middle of the 19th century when Perrier-Jouët produced the first Brut Champagne, which was much drier and developed for the English market. A few years later, they also became the first to produce and market vintage Champagne, the wines for which all came from the same year and were not a blend of wines from different harvests which had previously been the case.

All this demonstrates how this Maison has played a central role in the history of Champagne and all this before Gallé began designing his beautiful bottle for them. His commission came at the beginning of the 20th century, which began in 1900, the year Paris hosted the summer Olympics and a World’s Fair. Dubbed the Ville Lumiére, the city was thus the center of the world, the Belle Epoque was in full swing and Art Nouveau was its artistic manifestation.

It was probably that same year that Octave Gallice, the Maison’s owner at the time, had the idea to commission Emile Gallé, one of Art Nouveau’s most brilliant artists, to decorate some magnum bottles for their best Champagnes. In all likelihood, the magnums were filled with the wine from smaller bottles but there is no concrete evidence of this. What is known for sure is that Gallé designed some Japanese anemones that would later become the symbol of Perrier-Jouët.

Those beautiful bottles of the early 1900s appeared to have been lost over time but in the 1960s some were discovered in the Maison’s cellars by André Baveret, the Chef de Cave at the time.

Following this discovery, it was decided in 1964 to reproduce Gallé’s bottles for an exclusive, vintage Brut Champagne to be called Belle Epoque, which quickly became one of the most iconic Champagnes on the market. This was not an easy task because the studio and its contents that belonged to Gallé, who died in 1904, no longer existed. In order to reproduce the intricate stencils needed, a small Parisian artisan, Jean Bigou, was called in. The first Belle Epoque Champagne was a vintage 1964 and came out on the market in 1969. The wine made its debut during a major presentation at the Alcazar restaurant in Paris that was organized to mark the 70th birthday of the great Duke Ellington. It was a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a small amount of Pinot Meunier cultivated respectively in the Maison’s vineyards of Avize, Cramant and Chouilly in the towns of Côte des Blancs, Mailly, Verzy and Ay in the district of Montaigne de Reims and Dizy in Vallée de la Marne. The blend was and remains 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 5% Meunier. Belle Epoque 1964 was sold through Chez Maxim’s and Fauchon, two French wine and food icons.

Today, Belle Epoque is only produced in the best years to ensure it is a top quality Champagne. This year vintage 2013 is on the market, distributed in Italy by Marchesi Antinori, and it was recently presented to a group of experts, sector operators and trade journalists. It is an impressive version, from a harvest that can be defined as classic, after a year that was not too hot nor dry, neither too cool nor wet, which produced agile and elegant Champagnes just about everywhere.

Champagne Belle Epoque 2013

97/100 - € 150

A blend of 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier. Traditional Champenoise Method, 60 months on the lees. A bright straw-yellow color and very fine, slow and continuous effervescence. The bouquet has an excellent complexity with notes of flint, white flowers and gooseberry with a hint of green plum. The delicious mouthfeel is composed and agile with a very creamy effervescence and excellent, refreshing acidity that gives it an irresistible and pleasing drinkability and perfectly balances the body which has an excellent texture, making the whole taste very harmonious. The aftertaste has an impressive persistence.

This is without a doubt one of the best versions in recent years but perhaps needs to age for a few more months, even if it is already very drinkable and extremely satisfying.

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