Estate Nights | Dinner with Laurent Perrier

“Grand Siecle is Champagne’s most underrated tête de cuvée” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate.

On Thursday 5th September 2024, Lay & Wheeler Trading joined forces with Laurent Perrier to host an unforgettable evening focused on the prestigious Grand Siecle Champagne. We were delighted to be joined by David Hesketh MW, whose previous role as UK Managing Director of Laurent Perrier and his continued close links with the estate adeptly equipped him to lead us through the evening’s tastings.

Upon arrival…

Up on the fifteenth floor of the Treehouse Hotel in London’s Marylebone, bottles of Laurent Perrier Brut Millesime Vintage 2012 were popped to welcome our guests to this Estate Nights event. Overlooking the city, David Hesketh MW opened proceedings with a concise history of Laurent Perrier as we enjoyed some delightful, Mexican-inspired canapés from the team at the Madera restaurant. The Vintage 2012 was specially selected for this evening’s event as it is the majority coponent for the most recent releaase of Grand Siecle, Iteration No.26. Through David, we discovered how 2012 was a trickier vintage in Champagne, with rain, freezing temperatures and heatwaves, before a crucial period of temperate weather in September that saved the harvest.

Once seated, the focus of the evening – the Grand Siecle Champagnes – began to be poured, starting with the most recent release: Grand Siecle Iteration No.26. This was paired with pan searred British scallops with a smoked corn puree, candied bacon jam, truffle butter and a caviar veloute. With cirtus notes and the hallmark Laurent Perrier acidity and freshness, Grand Siecle Iteration No.26 (composed of thte 2012, 2008 and 2007 vintages) was a fantastic introduction to the evening. The second course – a beautifully baked turbot with an almond and lemon crust, pommes anna, samphire and a Cornish mussel cream sauce – was created to pair with Grand Siecle Iteration No.25 which was found to have an exuberant freshness, in contrast to the rich vintages in its blend (2008, 2007 and 2006).

After a refreshing mango and chamoy sorbet as a palate cleanser, Grand Siecle Iteration No.24 was poured alongside a lemon and tyhme marinatd guinea fowl supreme, with a parnsip puree, agave roasted heritage carrots and a parsley oil split forsest mushroom sauce. The Champagne’s slight savoury notes worked wonderfully with the meat and the differences between each Iteration were becoming clearer as each Champagne opened up in our glasses. The pre-dessert, a lemongrass and coconut panna cotta with kaffir lime gel, led the way for the opening of the evening’s Magnums – the format which David described as the best vessel for expressing the vision of Laurent Perrier’s Grand Siecle. Released two years after the Iteration in bottle format, the magnums offer a different expression which were apparent in this unique vertical tasting. Paired with the Grand Siecle Iteration No.23 in Magnum was a moreish clementine and milk chocolate bavarois, hazelnut feuilletine and candied clementine ice cream, which accentuated the reductive – almost smokey – notes of the Champagne.