Why you should drink prestige Champagne with your midweek meal

One of the most unique Champagnes on the market might be winning over chefs and sommeliers at London’s most prestigious spots, but its oenologist tells Sarah Neish that despite all the razzle dazzle it shines best with a simple chicken pie.

“It’s the current pouring Champagne at a number of five-star hotels in London, including The Savoy, the Corinthia, Brown’s, Cliveden and Nobu,” Daniel Brennan, UK brand director for Champagne Laurent-Perrier, tells db.

According to Brennan, the cuvée in question sells at about £21-£25 per glass, “and more than £30 per glass at The Ritz.”

But you can also pick up a bottle at your local Majestic store for £80 per single bottle, or £60 when bought as part of a mixed case of six wines – making it accessible enough to grab for a last-minute dinner party, home celebration or even an uneventful Wednesday night meal, should the mood take you.

Intrigued yet…?

Reserve judgement

The reason behind this Champagne’s popularity is that there is no other quite like it, because Laurent-Perrier Héritage Brut is made entirely from reserve wines.

“Usually, when you blend a wine you blend base wines with reserve wines,” explains Constance Delaire, oenologist for Laurent-Perrier. “This is the only Brut Champagne made from 100% reserve wines available on the market.”

The first expression of Héritage launched last year in the UK, and there won’t be another for some time. “There will not be another Héritage until at least the end of next year, or the year after that,” Delaire reveals, adding that when the new release does come it will likely be a different blend altogether.

Precision winemaking

So how did Héritage come about? Champagne Laurent-Perrier keeps 300 stainless steel vats dedicated exclusively to reserve wines squirrelled away in a separate cellar. “Every month we taste every single vat to determine where we want to put the reserve wines,” says Delaire. In other words, to decide into which of Laurent-Perrier’s existing cuvées they will be blended. But at some point the Champagne house decided it had more than enough wines in the reserve cellar to make something special.

“We didn’t want to just blend everything we had together and say ‘voila! Here’s a reserve wine!’” says Delaire. The same level of precision went into creating Héritage as it does any of the house’s other cuvées, including its Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature and Grand Siecle wines. “The 2015 reserve wine, for example, did not make it into Héritage as it has too much structure, too broad a set of shoulders.” That same 2015 ended up becoming one of Laurent-Perrier’s rare vintage wines instead, such was its singular potential.

The Héritage expression currently flying off shelves is a blend of reserve wines from 2019 (30%), 2018 (30%), 2016 (20%) and 2014 (20%), with the varietal mix split between 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. In total, grapes from about 40 different crus (of which around half are grands crus) made it into the wine, whose birth came as a result of the “production practices, conservation and management of reserve wines at Laurent-Perrier.”

No ageing required

One of the cornerstones of the Champagne house is the extremely long ageing of its wines, an ethos that Héritage personifies.

“For all our wines, when we release them they are ready to drink. We take care of all the ageing in our cellars,” says Delaire. This is perhaps never more so than with Héritage, which incorporates pre-aged reserve wines before the final blend is itself aged for another minimum period of four years.

The Champagne is creating a buzz around town, with listings at some of London’s most prestigious establishments. But despite its early success, Delaire believes that Laurent-Perrier may need to boost consumer familiarity with the concept. “People don’t know about reserve wines. Because of the economic crisis people tend to go with what they are familiar with, they take fewer risks. So we have to work on the notoriety of this wine,” she tells db.

Delaire, who began her career making wines in her home region of Saint-Emilion, specialised in crafting reds before becoming “fascinated by the subtle art of assemblage” and  joining Laurent-Perrier in 2023. She adds that even Michelin starred restaurants are “focused on Brut” right now; a safe bet in an unreliable economic climate.

Michelin star or midweek meal at home?

Wild Honey St James in London, however, is one Michelin-starred restaurant brave enough to try something different, choosing to serve Laurent-Perrier Héritage Brut this summer alongside its menu of Orkney scallops, Elwy Valley lamb and the provocatively named “It has to be Custard” dessert. Meanwhile, The Gallery at The Savoy poured Héritage for guests tucking into Scottish lobster and beef fillet Rossini, while Sea Containers on London’s South Bank served the Champagne with halibut with sauce vierge, beef tartare and vegan mushroom Wellington.

However, despite the wine’s gastronomic potential, according to Delaire it matches best with a more humble dish that one could easily rustle up at home – a simple chicken and mushroom pie.

“Héritage is very lively and not too heavy, making it a great balance for the fat and the cream in a chicken pie,” she claims. “It was a surprising pairing but one that really works!” It perhaps also speaks of changing attitudes in Champagne, where wines are no longer seen as only suitable for special occasions and fine dining.

Malolactic “for now”

With aromas of lemon, white peach and toasted bread, and a palate offering white fruits, citrus zest and floral honey, Héritage undergoes malolactic fermentation in keeping with Laurent-Perrier’s wider philosophy. “Other Champagne houses have started to use less malo, but for now we’ve been able to keep it,” Delaire says. “We find it brings a bit more aromatic expression to the wines, and we’ve actually had more issues with tartaric than malolactic, so all our cuvées undergo malolactic fermentation.”

All Laurent-Perrier wines are also aged in stainless steel, with the Champagne house having been the first to introduce the material to Champagne in the 1970s. “Because of the very long ageing of our wines, usually between eight to 14 years, sometimes there’s a yeasty flavour so people think we have used wood, but no,” Delaire confirms. “It’s always stainless steel.”

Find out more about how the US launch of Héritage went down, here.

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