Laurent-Perrier

Innovator in Champagne - Independent Family House Founded in 1812

La Maison - Our History

1812 - Tours-Sur-Marne

A former cooper and bottler in Chigny-les-Roses, André-Michel Pierlot settled in Tours‑sur‑Marne in 1812 as a champagne wine merchant. It was in this Grand Cru village, located at the crossroads of the three main vineyards, on plots of land known as Les Plaisances and La Tour Glorieux, that he founded what was to become Maison Laurent‑Perrier. He was succeeded by his son Alphonse Pierlot.

As Alphonse Pierlot had no descendants, he passed the company on to his cellar master Eugène Laurent. Eugène Laurent died prematurely in 1887, and his widow, Mathilde-Emilie Perrier, took over the reins of the company, adding her surname to that of Eugène Laurent to give the House the name Veuve Laurent‑Perrier. In 1889, she launched her "Grand Vin Sans Sucre", more to her taste and that of her British customers. Eugénie-Hortense Laurent succeeded her mother in 1925 and sold the estate in 1939.

1939 - Marie-Louise de Nonancourt

Marie-Louise de Nonancourt, a widow with four children, bought Domaine Laurent‑Perrier. During the 2nd World War, Bernard de Nonancourt and his elder brother Maurice joined the Resistance at the start of the Occupation. Only Bernard returned.

1948 - Bernard De Nonancourt

After returning from the war, Bernard de Nonancourt completed a demanding apprenticeship in the vineyards before becoming CEO at the age of just 28. At the time, the company employed around twenty people and sold 80,000 bottles. Under his leadership, Laurent‑Perrier became a true innovator in Champagne in just 40 years. Fascinated by innovation, attached to the traditions of the Champagne region and the quality of its people and wines, Bernard de Nonancourt created the Laurent‑Perrier style - freshness, elegance, purity - and developed a unique range of champagnes that were exported worldwide to more than 160 countries.

Quality of People, Quality of Wines

1999 - The Management Board

The Laurent‑Perrier Group is listed on the Second Marché of the Paris Stock Exchange and adopts a Management Board and Supervisory Board structure. Alexandra Pereyre and Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt join the Laurent‑Perrier Executive Board, chaired since 2014 by Stéphane Dalyac. The success of Laurent‑Perrier is the fruit of the energy of a family led by Bernard de Nonancourt and his daughters, who work to perpetuate the values of high standards and elegance, preserve the independence of a House and affirm the vision of a Brand.

2004 - Michel Fauconnet

Michel Fauconnet joined Laurent‑Perrier in 1973 and is the House's 3rd Cellar Manager, after Edouard Leclerc in 1950 and Alain Terrier in 1983.

"I gained my experience in the field. I've held all the production positions: cellar worker, supervisor, then head of the cellar. I learnt a lot from the technical work in the winery. Since 2004, I've been Cellar Master as well as Production Manager. The job has changed a lot. Initially, the Cellar Master made the wine. Now he's also in charge of supplies. So he's responsible for the wines, from vinification to bottling. I've spent my entire career in this House, where I share the same passion: champagne, and the same values: high standards and perfection. My job is to make pleasurable wines that reflect the spirit of Laurent‑Perrier."

2019 - Lucie Pereyre

In September 2019, the House was strengthened with the arrival of Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt, Alexandra's eldest daughter; she represents Grand Siècle around the world. She is training with the Cellar Master, the production teams and the sales teams, as part of Laurent-Perrier's innovative approach.

2025 - Olivier Vigneron

Olivier Vigneron, coming from a family of farmers in the Marne region, discovered the world of winemaking during the grape harvest while he was a student. He specialised with a degree in biochemistry from the University of Reims and earned a DNO (National Diploma in Oenology), graduating at the top of his class in 1997. He then joined the Despagne vineyard in Bordeaux, where he gained solid experience in winemaking and team management.

In 2000, he was recruited by Alain Terrier at De Castellane, before joining Laurent-Perrier in 2004 under the leadership of Michel Fauconnet. Today, as Cellar Master, he rigorously ensures the transmission of the House’s unique savoir-faire, assuring the continuity of the Laurent-Perrier style.

La Maison - Our Savoir-Faire

Innovator in Champagne

Our 3 savoir-faire: Blending Reserve Wines, Maceration, Non-Dosage

The Laurent-Perrier Style

Bernard de Nonancourt created the Laurent-Perrier style: freshness, elegance, purity. To achieve this, he used the traditional practices of Champagne, but also initiated and stimulated new technical approaches to winemaking. The result is a range of unique wines, each with its own history and style. Laurent-Perrier is renowned for its taste and the consistency of its quality, Cuvée after Cuvée.

Vinification

At the end of the 1970s, Laurent-Perrier was one of the few Champagne Houses to choose stainless steel vats. By controlling the first fermentation at a low temperature, they allow the wine to retain its freshness and preserve the complexity of its aromas. They also contribute to the development of the House style: freshness, elegance and purity. Bernard de Nonancourt showed his ambition for Laurent-Perrier by having the first temperature-controlled vat room built.

Alain Terrier, Cellar Master from 1983 to 2004, perfected the art of blending, faithful to the quest for excellence that nourishes the Laurent-Perrier spirit. He selects grapes from the best areas of the Champagne vineyards, vinifies each batch separately and supervises the blends with the utmost care. This plot-by-plot vinification has become a signature of the House: each vineyard is worked separately, offering the Cellar Master who makes the blends a very wide range of aromas, terroirs and styles.

Assemblage

At Laurent-Perrier, winemaking means selecting the best juice from the press, working with the three main Champagne varietals, Chardonnay mostly, Pinot Noir and Meunier, which is used solely in making “La Cuvée” and Harmony. It also means choosing the still wines that will go to make up the final composition from the 319 villages in the Champagne AOC area including 17 Grands Crus and 42 Premiers Crus.

To make wine is to achieve the perfect balance between a base year and reserve wines to recreate the characteristic Laurent-Perrier style each year. Finally, it means ageing our Cuvées for long periods so that they are perfectly ready to enjoy as soon as they are released onto the market. Each of these stages, however important, can only be accomplished if we have the best grapes, which is why our long-standing partnerships with the region’s growers and cooperatives, often over several generations, are vital.

Partner of Gastronomy

Laurent‑Perrier’s history and that of gastronomy have always been intimately linked. Since the 1950s, Laurent‑Perrier has developed a range of wines based on freshness, finesse and elegance to pair perfectly with French gastronomy, both as an aperitif and throughout the meal. Since then, Laurent‑Perrier has always been able to accompany the key players in gastronomy and to sublimate their creations.

"This quest for excellence and uniqueness in the way we make wine, this desire to always do better in order to be the best partner for gastronomy, is a demand and above all a philosophy." Bernard de Nonancourt

Chosen by The Best

Laurent‑Perrier has for many years built strong relationships with world-renowned establishments recognised for their excellence in wine.

Responsible and Committed

Since the 1980s, Champagne has been dedicated to implementing solutions to protect the environment. Today, the Champagne industry has the 2030 target of having 100% of certified surfaces, working in three main areas: The preservation and enhancement of land and landscapes, The management of effluent, waste and by-products, The reduction of the carbon footprint.

As part of its environmental strategy for the vineyard and for 100% of its plots, the Laurent-Perrier Group obtained the Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne (SVC) and the High Environmental Value (HEV) certifications in February 2018. The Group controls its waste production, both related to wine production and product packaging, by promoting recycling. Laurent-Perrier also strives to minimize its consumption of water, electricity and gas at its production site.