Prestige Cuvée Par Excellence | New Larurent-Perrier Grand Siecle No.26 Available

“This suave, complex three-vintage blend is the Grande Marque prestige cuvée par excellence”

– William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

The above quote accompanies Wine Advocate's 96+ score for Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle No.26, which is the house's latest release. This is therefore both your opportunity to get involved the first time it is offered for investment through RareWine Invest. And it is your opportunity to get your hands on a Champagne based on the marvellous 2008 and 2012 vintages. Oh, and did we mention Richard Juhlin scores 97 points?

Read more about the solid Champagne house and the investment potential in the house's prestige cuvée below.

Laurent-Perrier | Pioneering Champagne House With NV Prestigecuvée

The history of the Laurent-Perrier Champagne House can be traced back to 1812, when André-Michel Pierlot settled as a Champagne merchant in Tours-sur-Marne. Here he founded what the world knows today as Maison Laurent-Perrier. André-Michel passed the domain to his son Alphonse Pierlot, who later passed the house on to his cellar master Eugéne Laurent, hence the "Laurent" name was added to the domain.

Eugéne died in 1887, so his widow Mathilde-Emilie Perrier took over management and added her own name. Changing owners have been a reality ever since, but that does not change the constant skill, diligence and innovation that has permeated the Champagne house over the years. The house has always been known for producing Champagne of the highest quality, spiced up with massive business acumen.

With a production of around 80,000 bottles in the 1940s, Laurent-Perrier has grown to become a powerhouse with seven million bottles produced annually. Laurent-Perrier was even the first Champagne house to introduce zero dosage Champagne and, in the 1950s, the very first to implement the use of steel tanks for fermentation. And indeed, this is a method that is today more the rule than the exception in Champagne.

The pioneering spirit is part of the house's DNA, so it is not surprising that Laurent-Perrier was also the first to present a multi-vintage prestige cuvée. Of course, the attentive reader will know that it is often unheard of to make a prestige cuvée based on more than one vintage

But this is the case with Laurent-Perrier. The flagship name is Grand Siecle, and its legitimacy as a prestige cuvée is chiselled in stone with consistently high standards.

Grand Siecle No.26 | 2x Extraordinary

Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siecle No.26 is the latest release, and according to the house, it consists of 65% 2012, 25% 2008 and 10% 2007 grapes. And this is where it gets particularly interesting. According to Wine Advocate's Vintage Chart, both the 2012 and 2008 vintages are categorised in the best category: Extraordinary. And the knowledgeable Champagne enthusiast will know that these vintages are categorised as reference vintages in Champagne - especially 2008.

And the fact that No.26 is mostly based on marvellous vintages is also reflected in the scores given by critics. Richard Juhlin gives 97 points, Wine Advocate awards 96+ points, and Vinous has given a preliminary score of 94-96 points. And 97 points from Champagne expert Juhlin tops his ranking of Grand Siecle.

The chart below shows two things. That Grand Siecle No.26 takes a narrow lead. And that the level is consistently high. Now, it may not be normal for a NV Champagne to act as a prestige cuvée, but to put this case into perspective, let's just look at the house's vintage Champagne.

Laurent-Perrier's 2008 Brut Millésimé, for example, gets 93 points from Vinous, 93 points from Wine Advocate and 92 points from Richard Juhlin. This means that the house's vintage Champagne from the legendary 2008 vintage is rated lower than their prestige cuvée. This suggests that they are absolutely right in placing Grand Siecle at the top of the hierarchy - and that Grand Siecle's three basic principles create positive synergy.

Volume Assumptions

A year ago, we had the opportunity to offer the Grand Siecle for investment for the first time - just No.25, which was the newest release at the time. And here, too, we were talking volumes:

"Like any other proud champagne house, Laurent-Perrier also keeps details about the scale of production to itself, but here's a little break down to help with perspective: Laurent-Perrier reportedly produces around seven million bottles of champagne per year. The house has seven different champagnes in its core portfolio, from semi-sweet to zero dosage and NV to vintage champagne. As with any other house, we have to assume that the NV champagnes, such as their La Cuvée, are by far the most important in this equation, while the vintage champagnes are less important."

Grand Siecle lies between NV and vintage Champagne and in this case is based on the 2012, 2008 and 2007 vintages, all of which are also made as vintage editions. Would a producer save an unnecessary amount of vintage champagne, which is a core product, to make a blend? And will a producer produce the prestige product in unnecessarily high volumes?

Another small observation that can give an idea of the size of the production: The cheapest price on wine-searcher.com for a 2008 Laurent-Perrier is currently around € 58*. Your investment price on the Grand Siecle No.26 is €130. Here it is not difficult to interpret conclusions about prestige, supply, and demand.

Grand Siecle No.26 - Specification Enables Investment

It is not every day that a non-vintage Champagne finds its way into the investment realm, but this particular Grand Siecle is a specified product - just like vintage Champagnes. When the last Grand Siecle No.26 is released, there will be no more. And no more can be produced, so by its very nature it has exactly the same investment qualifications as vintage champagnes.

As you know, this is the second time we are offering a Grand Siecle for investment. If you invested in No.25 a year ago, you would have realised a return of 4.3% today - a good start, so to speak. Looking at the asking prices on wine-searcher.com, an interesting trend can also be seen. In 3.5 years since its release, the asking price of Grand Siecle No.24 has increased 10% on average per year. In the same period, the asking prices of Grand Siecle's No.23 have increased 13% on average per year, while the figure for No. 22 is 19% on average per year. The more years in the market, the higher price increases are usually seen.

Add to this the fact that you are currently getting a favourable investment price. The cheapest offer* on Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle No.26 is currently 18% higher than your price of €130*.

*Ex duty VAT and tax. In full boxes and perfect condition.

Rarewine Invest's Opinion

This is not a random non-vintage Champagne from a random Champagne house. This is a historic Champagne house whose prestige cuvée was created with a vision of producing the perfect oenological year through the blending of vintages. And critical acclaim has cemented that such a vision has been fulfilled.

Secondly, previous releases have shown how prices have been steadily climbing upwards - even more so the older the releases are. And this is very much in line with the fact that it's often when volumes are reduced from the market that the biggest price increases begin to occur.

This one scored 97 points from Juhlin. This is the first time it has been offered for investment on this channel. And it has a great price compared to the cheapest offer on wine-searcher.com.