Laurent Perrier

Laurent Perrier was founded in 1812 and has been making unique champagne, praised for two hundred years. In 1812 Alphonse Pierlot from Chigny-les-Roses settled in Tours-sur-Marne on the vast vineyards called Plaisances and La Tour Glorieux. He started producing the first champagnes from the champagne house.
In 1881 Alphonse Pierlot's cellar master, Eugène Laurent, took over the company. Eugène and his wife, Mathilde-Emilie Perrier, led the champagne house together. After Eugene died in 1887, widow Mathilde took charge and renamed the champagne house: Veuve Laurent-Perrier & Cie. It is clear where the name of the champagne house came from: an amalgamation of the surnames of the widow and her deceased husband.

In 1914, the champagne house led by Mathilde produced the record-breaking number of 50,000 cases of champagne. During and after the First World War, the champagne house and the country were literally and figuratively under attack. Mathilde hired Alexander Fletcher Keith Mackenzie to broaden Laurent Perrier's market and also introduce champagne in England.
Eugenie Hortense Laurent inherited Laurent-Perrier after Mathilde died in 1925. Eugenie was unable to cope with the low sales after the First World War and just before the Second World War and sold the company to Marie Louise Lanson de Nonancourt.

The new owner of the champagne house was also confronted with the difficult economic conditions and was looking for a future for herself and her three sons. Her brothers Victor and Henri Lanson were champagne producers, and Marie Louise decided to put all her savings into Laurent Perrier, despite the champagne house almost going bankrupt. At one point, Marie Louise even had to hide the hundred thousand champagne bottles behind a wall, while her sons Mauice and Bernard fought in the war. Maurice, the oldest son to be taken over by Laurent-Perrier after the war, was captured during the war and died in Oranienburg (concentration camp). Despite this, the company survived World War II.

Marie Louise's second son, Bernard, eventually took over the company. Motivated thanks to his love of champagne and respect for his team, Bernard spent all his time building the champagne house with the slogan that "with quality wine and people you cannot fail". With the small team, he made Laurent Perrier one of the market leaders in the champagne market again, and this is where the road started from the company to its ultimate goal: the largest family business in the champagne market.
In 1950, Laurent Perrier was one of the first champagne houses to use stainless steel tanks in production.
In 1957 Laurent Perrier introduced the very first prestige cuvée ever made: a blend of great years of champagne called Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle La Cuvée. In 1968, the champagne house introduced the Cuvée Rosé Brut, made purely from Pinot Noir using the method called la méthode saignée, resulting in a complex and salmon-pink champagne.

In 1975 Alain Terrier Laurent Perriers became new cellar master, winemaker; in short: the genius behind the creation of Laurent Perrier's champagne. He ensured the innovation of the champagne house, without going against the customs and traditions of the region.
In 1980, Laurent Perrier was the first champagne house to re-market the extra-brut concept: Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut.
In 1987, as a wedding gift to his daughter Alexandra, Bernard de Nonancourt created a rosé millésimé made from only Pinot Noir from a family reserve, the Grand Siècle Alexandra Rosé 1982. The rosé millésimé became a must-have for connoisseurs and because of the great demand for the Laurent Perrier continued this limited production with champagne. The most recent limited edition of this cuvée was the Alexandra Rosé 1997.

All in all, Laurent Perrier has become one of the most famous champagne houses, despite being on the verge of bankruptcy and having to go through two wars. Today, the company is still owned by Bernard de Nonancourt and his daughters Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt and Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt also help in the family business. They will succeed their father after his death.