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.

Festive wine par excellence, Champagne has a complex reality behind the scenes. Even though there is only one single Champagne appellation, 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.