Joseph Perrier founded this small champagne house in Châlons-en-Champagne in 1825. Laurent-Perrier was the proprietor for a brief period before Alain Thiénot took over in 1998. The company produces a range of high quality wines from non-vintage Brut (Royale) through to one of the most refined prestige cuvées in Champagne, Joséphine, which is systematically bottle-matured for more than a decade. The house owns 21 hectares of vineyard which provide 25% of its needs. The remainder comes from 30 crus in Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs, and the Vitry region.

The party wine par excellence, Champagne has a complex reality behind the scenes. Even though the Champagne appellation is unique, there are in fact several different kinds of Champagne: ‘blanc de blancs’ (from Chardonnay grapes), ‘blanc de noirs’ (from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or both), a blend of three varieties, from a single vineyard or several, white or rosé, vintage or not, and dosed in varying proportions. What’s more, the Champagne region encompasses the defined area of three AOC appellations: Champagne, Coteaux-Champenois and Rosé-des-Riceys. At either side of the Marne, Reims and Épernay share the title of Champagne capital. Several regions make up the Champagne appellation: Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs on the edge of Épernay, Grande Vallée de la Marne and the two banks of the Marne Valley, extended by the Aisne vineyard and the Surmelin Valley. The Aube vineyard is situated at the far-south of the appellation area and is separated from the other segments by 75km of land without vines.