Spring expectation with Joseph Perrier champagne

Joseph Perrier Champagne House is located in Chalons-en-Champagnes, Marne Valley. The cellars of the house are 3 kilometers in chalky soil.  Cellar galleries are old mine moves, in some cases history dates back to the Romans. When I visited the cellars of Joseph Perrier, I was most amazed by the chimneys or passages that open to the sky that bring daylight to the basements.

The chalky soil that was mined cannot withstand rain. That is why the Romans mined underground and building material was brought to the ground through these shafts. Today it comes with fresh air and local daylight. Joseph Pererier’s Champagne House was founded in 1825. It still belongs to the family. I especially like that the cellar master is a woman – Natalie Laplaige. When Veuve Cliquot Barbe Nicole Ponsardin- a woman – was able to do business or champagne only while she was a veuve- widow. There are many fierce women in the champagne world today. Natalie among them.
Joseph Peerrier’s vineyards are 23 hectares around Hautvillers and Cumières. More grapes are bought from well-known and controlled growers.
Joseph Perrier champagne house also makes various Cuvée Royale champagnes for the Royal House of UK.

Cuvée Royale Brut

At the Estonian sommelier wine fair we try Cuvee Royale Brut champagne. The taste is familiar from the past. 3 grapes: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both 35%, the rest is Pinot Meunier. The grapes come from different villages. 20% are reserve wines. 3 years aged in a bottle. Champagne just right for the start of the master class. Although it was the last master class of the fair day and the senses were already tired of sniffing and tasting. The freshness of the Cuvée Royale can already bring the sommelier with its aroma back to earth. Of course, this will be facilitated by a pleasant-style presentation by Jospeh Perrier’s export manager Maxence Badré. This presentation was the friendliest contact for me with Joseph Perrier’s champagne. I don’t know if the royal house or why, but these champagnes have still seemed very polite and not too much fun to me. This master class aroused interest and interest has grown with pleasant support. In other words, Maxence Badré, the workshop organizer, was able to politely move the communication between champagne and the client to a more friendly and joyful phase.
The aroma of Cuvée Royale features a fresh morning garden, summer apples and a pear ending in a scent. The taste is fresh, the small bubble typical of this champagne creates a nice foam. Freshness is exactly what tired minds need most at the moment. A very enjoyable experience. The aftertaste is long and pleasantly fresh.

Cuvée Royale Brut Nature

The next champagne has entered the fashion stream in one rhythm: Cuvée Royale Brut Nature. No sugar has been added. Pinot Meunier 24%, Chardonnay 62% and Pinot Noir 14%.  Weather in Champagne  has also changed with climate change, and Pinot Meunier has received deeper, more mature notes, which are no longer added to champagnes just for the taste of berries, but Pinot Meunier is an equal maker in champagne with other grapes.

Brut Nature has been in the cellar for 6 years. As expected, green apple and fresh lemon taste. Fresh fruit flavors are the first to characterize this champagne’s nature. Quite unexpectedly, you can feel marzipan and chocolate and coffee. Brioch and butter cookie are no longer surprising, but are pleasant in both aroma and taste. This champagne is pleasant as expected.

Champagne for Joséphine

 The last lesson of the master class was vintage champagne Joséphine 2008. In my opinion, this Joseph Perrier champagne  is the most interesting belnding of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. Here you can clearly feel the excellent suitability of the two grapes, the fruitiness of Pinot Noir and the freshness and excitement of Chardonnay. At the Estonian Sommelier Wine Fair in early March, at the end of a long day, champagne Joséphine tastes like a promise. Spring is right behind the door, freshness, joy of life and a delicious reward for surviving winter are in the champagne glass – Joséphine 2008. Vanilla is felt in the aroma, but on my question, in which barrel was the agening of champagne, Maxence Badré replied that the champagnes in their house do not age in oak barrels. Freshness is preserved without development in barrels. In the aroma, more nuts, spices and white flowers are added to the vanilla. I dare not say whether the fact that I smell a small white flower blooming very early in the snow  in champagne aroma from the expectation of spring, or whether champagne really smells like a small spring flower. In taste, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay give an enjoyable fruit experience, while with nutty and spicy notes.

At the Wine Fair, the days seem short, especially if you are a student of the Sommelier Private School and greedy with as much wisdom as you can. Joseph Perrier and Maxence Badré and Finebrands and Sarah Eerikson turned my slightly cautious attitude into a vivid interest. In any case, it is not possible to buy these champagnes from Estonia at this time. Good sign.
All the photos in this story come from my visit to Joeph Perrier’s champagne house