Belle Epoque 2007: Perrier-Jouët’s epicurean vintage cuvée

Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque has an unmistakable bottle the beauty off which is second only to its contents. The bottle’s floral decoration was designed by Art Nouveau artist Emile Gallé in 1902 and adorns the cuvée de prestige from this Epernay Maison as it if was a declaration of style. It first appeared on the bottle in 1969, the year of the first edition of this prestigious vintage Cuvée created using grapes from the 1964 harvest. In a way, the decoration is a signature because balance and harmony, the beauty of detail and the quest for elegance are what inspire the entire production of Perrier-Jouët, a small Maison of unquestioned value that for over 30 years has been guided by the savoir-faire of Chef de Caves Hervé Deschamps.

For Perrier-Jouët, Belle Epoque, in its three versions – Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé, is not simply a vintage Champagne (the Maison does not produce any ‘intermediate’ wines) but an expression of what they define as Perrier-Jouët’s Art du Millésmine. Each Belle Epoque cuvée is a concentrate the best of that vintage, the best grapes from their best vineyards situated in the best Cru. And it is also a rare example of a cuvée de prestige with a little Pinot Meunier in its blend, a choice Hervé Deschamps said was dictated by the fact Maison is in Epernay and a desire to bring out a refined complexity in a Champagne that derives only from the richness of the blend. The result is an alchemy created to exalt a velvety freshness and texture born to defy time with the crispy vitality of Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Avize and Chouilly, enriched by the energy and depth of Pinot Noir from Mailly, Verzy and Aÿ, together and with a final fruity touch from the Pinot Meunier of Dizy.

Hervé Deschamps described the 2007 edition of Belle Epoque as “the product a unique and surprising year that saw a very mild winter and an exceptional sping-smmer, a crystalline vintage whose subtlety and generosity highlight the precision of the Perrier-Jouët style. It is an epicurean wine”, one that unites dynamism and richness, roundness and tension, vivacity and elegance and that will undoubtedly stand out for many years to come.

Related Products