Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2012

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2012

Belle Epoque is the crown jewel of big champagne producer Perrier-Jouët. The wine was "invented" in the late 50s by the owner at that time called Michel Budin. He and his marketing director Pierre Ernst and the cellar master André Bavaret were inspired by an old, beautifully decorated bottle, which had been lying and collecting dust in a cupboard in a back room for a long time. A bottle that carried a range of glazed and finely curved anemones was made in 1902 by the glass artist Emile Galle, who is today considered one of the most significant figures in the French Art Nouveau movement.

The task was then to produce a Champagne that could live up to the beautiful packaging. The first attempt came on the market in 1969 in the form of a Vintage Brut 1964 and the rest, as they say, is history.

In Belle Epoque Brut, he looks for freshness and elegance with 50% Chardonnay from Grands Cru fields in Cramant and Avize, and with 45% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinots Meunier from Montagne de Reims, he tries to complement it with generosity and complexity. The wine matures in the bottle for 6 years before it gets its Champagne cork and a relatively high dosage of 8 g per bottle for top wines. 

Comments from a tasting:

"Creamy lemon notes have a distant whiff of vanilla, but more air also reveals chalky, stony depth. The body is slender but comes with well-rounded richness, hinting at its rich autolysis with toasty notes. Lemon oil sets a citrus note that expands alongside the rich, yeasty sonorousness. The creamy finish is almost mellow."

94/100

Anne Krebiehl, Decanter Magazine, October 2020

Product information

Size: 0,75 L 
Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Dosage: Brut
Notes: cooked apple, citrus fruit, freshly baked bread,
ABV: 12.5% Vol.
Made in: France, Champagne
Produced by: Perrier-Jouët, France
Including: champagne
Condition: Brand new, (may have minor imperfections from shipping)
Other information: contains sulfites