Laurent-Perrier Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature

A dense and flavorful chardonnay with creamy texture and flavor. Lots of citrus and grapefruit and very vinous. A blanc de blancs with weight yet freshness. Pure chardonnay with no dosage. A new wine. Lovely finish. 40% 2009 and 60% 2012. Drink now.

A new cuvée from Laurent-Perrier, the inaugural NV Blanc de Blancs Nature represents the first time this house, for all its emphasis on Chardonnay, has ever released a blanc de blancs. Offering up aromas of citrus fruit, green apple, oyster shell and warm bread, the wine is medium to full-bodied, lively and precise, with a bright spine of ripe acidity and a delicately chalky finish. It's a blend of the 2012 and 2013 vintages with reserve wine from 2009, and chef de cave Michel Fauconnet told me that he had sought precision from the Chardonnay of the Montagne de Reims and texture from that of the Côte de Blancs.

While this Champagne is certainly dry, it has enough bottle age to have softened and brought out fruit as much as minerality. The result is finely wrought flavors of lime and kiwi lying over a taut texture. Drink this bottling from 2021. 

The base year here is the superb 2012, contributing 60% of the blend. The balance is reserve wine, but unusually from one year only and not an immediate predecessor to the base: it’s from the sunny and generous 2009 vintage, which lends weight and complexity. Disgorged in January 2019, this is a great success, combining a familiar saline austerity with floral notes, hints of lime and calamansi and an almost adamantine finish. Michel suggests drinking it with sea bass cooked in a clay pot, though I would try it with lobster or oysters too! Drinking Window 2019 - 2023.

Le brut nature se décline désormais en blanc de blancs. Une cuvée aboutie, traçante en bouche et de jolie complexité.