Laurent Perrier - Brut Champagne Grand Siecle Cuvee No. 26 NV (750ml)

 
WS
95
WE
97
WA
96
D
96
JS
100
TWI
95
V
96+

Price: $250.00

Producer Laurent Perrier
Country France
Region Champagne
Varietal Champagne Blend
Sku 6549
Size 750ml

James Suckling: 100 Points

This is really something. Electric on the palate. The aromas are so complex with sliced fresh and dried ginger, subtle pie crust, tarte tatin and hints of nutmeg with some salted caramel. Toasted bread, too. Always subtle. The palate is full- to medium-bodied yet hemmed-in with a freshness and balance that draws you back. Savory and vibrant. It's full of energy. Spectacular. Fascinating. Symphonic blend of 2012, 2008 and 2007. 65% of the 2012, 25% of the 2008 and 10% of the 2007. Eight grand cru. Chardonnay 58% and 42% pinot noir. Disgorged February 2023. 10 years on the lees. 7g/L dosage. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast: 97 Points

#6 Wine Enthusiast Cellar Selection of 2023 Tautly textured the Champagne is delicious with a poise between white and citrus fruits along with touches of maturity coming through. Drink this magnificent wine now for its great balance and intensity. ? Roger Voss

Decanter: 96 Points

This iteration of Grand Siècle is almost entirely composed of two of Champagne's greatest recent vintages so expectations are high. The wine more than meets them tempering the generosity of 2012's fruit ? ripe apricots white peach clementines and sunny zesty citrus ? with a pitch-perfect streak of 2008 tautness and structure. There are some fleshy creamy notes of papaya and toasted white sourdough but everything is as delicately rendered as expected and impeccably shaped with a sleek silky mousse. A little more approachable than Itération No. 25 it will welcome exten

Vinous: 96+ Points

The NV Grande Cuvée Grand Siècle No. 26 is exquisite. Light pastry notes baked apple tart lemon confit spice and dried herbs are all beautifully amplified in a resonant super-expressive Grand Siècle. All the elements are so well balanced. As good as the No. 26 is now it is also incredibly young with impressive weight persistence and structure to age well for years. Today it exudes texture and character not to mention tons of class. Bright acids and floral overtones pull it all together on the palate-staining saline finish. The blend is 60% 2012 20% 2008 and 20% 2007. (Drink between 2024-2039)

Wine Advocate: 96 Points

A blend of the 2012 2008 and 2007 vintages the NV Brut Grand Siècle #26 won't be released for another four or five years but there is a great deal to anticipate as it's a stunning young wine in the making. Unfurling in the glass with scents of crisp nectarine pear and honeyed citrus fruit that mingle with notions of fresh mint blanched almonds and iodine the wine is full-bodied concentrated and tightly wound with broad structural shoulders tangy acids and a long intense finish. It's a great Grand Siècle in the making. My tasting with Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet was especially interesting as a number of exciting innovations are in the works at Laurent-Perrier. The first is the release of a new cuvée in a genre well-adapted to the house's gently reductive Chardonnay-based style: it's a non-dosage blanc de blancs and it will be released later this year. The second important development is that Laurent-Perrier will henceforth enumerate each new edition of their tête de cuvée Grande Siècle. As readers will know Grande Siècle is a blend of three complementary vintages?put simply one to provide structure another freshness and a third flesh. The maison's decision to be more transparent about exactly which vintages are in the bottle is to be welcomed as this is a cuvée that can age formidably?as several tasting notes in this report testify?and armed with this information consumers will henceforth be better able to make informed decisions about when to drink their bottles. It will also serve to emphasize that magnums of Grand Siècle are systematically released later than bottles. For example the current US release of the Grand Siècle in 750-milliliter bottles is #23 a blend of the 2006 2004 and 2002 vintages; but the latest US release in 1.5-liter bottles is the Grand Siècle #22 a blend of the 2004 2002 and 1999 vintages. The significance of this will not be lost on readers who appreciate Champagne with additional bottle age. In addition to these two innovations Fauconnet also took pains to emphasize that the house has been making considerable efforts to improve their grape sourcing?improvements that seemed to be reflected in a more-than-creditable non-vintage Brut a cuvée that is needless to say produced in some quantity. In summation this rather discrete maison is quietly producing very fine wines and all these recent forthcoming and past releases come warmly recommended in their respective categories. Published: Apr 30 2019

The Wine Independent: 95 Points

An assemblage of three vintages 2012 2008 and 2007 from eight Grand Cru the Grand Siècle 26 is a 58% Chardonnay 42% Pinot blend in this cuvée. Burnished yellow gold with a singular column of tiny bubbles it has a strikingly complex nose with layers of ripe pear nectarine and summer red berries intermixing with wet crushed stones toast and hints of smoke. Medium to full-bodied the palate is opulent with a great fruit intensity lifted by finely knit incisive acidity adding excellent freshness to the long chalky finish. Reviewed by: Sarah Mayo Review date: 2023-11-08

Wine Spectator: 95 Points

A graceful Champagne with flavors of boysenberry and black cherry fruit toast blanched almond and grapefruit pith graphite and fleur de sel gliding across the satiny mousse. Reveals racy acidity that sculpts fine definition allowing the detailed profile to expand on the palate while minerally hints of chalk and oyster shell linger on the finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2030.