Fantastic tasting and inspiring talks with Lucie Peyreyre de Nonancourt and Edouard Cossy of Laurent Perrier in Wiesbaden yesterday. The Champagne House presented their Grand Siecle Iterations No. 25 in the standard bottle, No. 23 in the magnum. We also tasted Alexandra 2004 and some other exciting stuff.
The Iterations have each spent 12 years (standard bottle) and 14 years (magnum) on their lees—the idea of the Non-Vintage Cuvée Prestige – to blend three vintages into a perfect whole. Well, perfection is not an easy goal, but the two iterations are excellent in any case. They offer a fantastic combination of freshness, complexity, wonderfully creamy texture and a very long and fine saline-mineral finish.
Especially the larger magnum format suits the wine perfectly. No. 23 is an assemblage of Chardonnay – 58% and Pinot Noir 42% from 11 of the 17 Grand Cru sites. It is sourced from the three vintages 2006 – 65% | 2004 – 20% | 2002 – 15%. Lemon tart, white flowers, pear, pineapple, bread crust, macadamia nuts and the subtle mineral finish.
Iteration 25 is equally superb. Very delicate, with some yellow fruit and lovely scents of white pepper and walnut in the aroma. 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from 9 Grand Cru sites found their way into this blend.
The description of the other wines follows.
