Champagne Joseph Perrier

At A Glance

Field: Detail
Region: Champagne
Home: Châlons-en-Champagne
Main grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier
Range: Cuvée Royale and parcel based Blanc de Noirs
Cellar feature: Gallo Roman galleries

The Producer

Joseph Perrier was founded in Châlons in 1825. Six generations have been connected to its vines and terroir. The house received its Royal distinction from Queen Victoria and King Edward VII.

Benjamin Fourmon has served as président-directeur général since January 2019, while Jean-Claude Fourmon remains the house's ambassador. The current house combines this family continuity with wines sourced from Grand Cru and Premier Cru hillsides and matured in historic cellars.

Place

Joseph Perrier is the only Champagne house remaining in Châlons-en-Champagne. The house sources Grand Cru and Premier Cru grapes from the hillsides of Chouilly, Cumières, Damery and Hautvillers.

Grand Cru and Premier Cru are Champagne village classifications. Their presence places fruit from classified hillsides inside a house whose cellar and address remain in Châlons.

Story

In 2017, Nathalie Laplaige joined Joseph Perrier as cellar master, succeeding Jérome Dervin, the last cellar master in four generations of Dervins at the house. Her arrival changed the name directing cellar work after a long Dervin succession. The handover marked a new chapter in the management of the wines while the house continued its six generation connection to its vines and terroir.

Vineyards And Cellar

The house has 7.5 hectares in Verneuil certified organic since 2012. Across the traditionally managed vineyards, treatment inputs have fallen by 80 percent over 20 years. The vineyards are managed without herbicides or insecticides.

The historic cellars are Gallo Roman in origin and extend for three kilometres. Skylights carved into chalk illuminate the galleries, while the arboretum above them helps maintain moisture and temperature for ageing. Bottles mature in these cellars for several years.

Wines

The range includes Cuvée Royale Brut, Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs, and a parcel based Blanc de Noirs. Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs is made entirely from Chardonnay. The Blanc de Noirs is based on Pinot Noir and Meunier, with parcels shaping the wine's place within the range.

These cuvées set a single variety beside a parcel based wine from two black grape varieties. Cuvée Royale Brut provides the house's Brut style alongside them.

In The Glass

Cuvée Royale Brut shows ripe Pinot fruit, a hint of spice, and an incisive profile carried by Chardonnay led freshness. The Blanc de Blancs brings citrus, white flowers and white fleshed fruit, followed by brioche and minerality. Its palate is fresh and airy.

The Blanc de Noirs moves toward ripe yellow fruit, red berries and delicate spice. It is full bodied and generous, with the black grape varieties giving the wine a broader presence than the Chardonnay cuvée.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs. It is made entirely from Chardonnay, fermented in stainless steel vats, and aged for a prolonged period on fine lees. Stainless steel preserves purity, while lees ageing can add texture and complexity. The bottle places one grape and one cellar method before the parcel based Pinot Noir and Meunier Blanc de Noirs.

Anecdote

In the mid 1990s, Jean-Claude Fourmon sold a majority stake in Joseph Perrier to the Laurent-Perrier Group. Less than two years later, Alain Thiénot, Fourmon's first cousin, bought out Laurent-Perrier and returned the company to family hands in 1998. The sale and buyout changed the ownership of the house within a short period, with Fourmon and Thiénot carrying the company through the reversal.

Final Word

Joseph Perrier keeps its home in Châlons-en-Champagne while its wines move between Chardonnay and parcel based Pinot Noir and Meunier.

At A Glance

The Producer

Place

Story

Vineyards And Cellar

Wines

In The Glass

A Bottle To Understand It

Anecdote

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next