<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leo Damiani, commercial and marketing director of the\nbubbles sector of Marchesi Antinori s.p.a., importer in Italy of the champagnes\nof the Maison Perrier Jouet and member of Les Enfants du champagne, organized a\nvisit to Epernay, to the Maison Perrier Jouet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took about a year and a half to manage to combine\neveryone’s commitments and finally on February 8th we were able to leave, some\nfrom Florence, some from Rome and some from Milan. The\nparticipants were the Les Enfants du champagne: Leo Damiani, Marco Maffei,\nOrazio Vagnozzi, Stefano Azzolari, Roberto Schneuwly, Maurizio Tarquini,\nValerio Mearini and myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leo also invited two friends who are passionate about\nchampagne, Alberto Lupetti, a journalist, and Paolo Beltramini, the owner of a\nrestaurant on the Tuscan coast of Livorno, whom I didn’t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
but years ago I had met his brother Giancarlo\nBeltramini, as I was also from Livorno and with whom I had shared the rental of\nan apartment during the winter season in Abetone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately I learned from Paolo, with great regret,\nthat Giancarlo had passed away in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all met in Paris where a vehicle was waiting for us\nto take us to Epernay. On the way we stopped at the restaurant, A.Gouiette, in\nSaint Germain sur Morin, where we had a food and wine break. We then continued\nour journey and arrived at the Maison Belle Epoque Perrier Jouet which is\nlocated in Epernay in the Avenue de champagne. It is a house, all in Art\nNouveau style where there are 350 objects and furniture of the time. It is the\nmost important collection in the world of Art Nouveau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This house is used only by invited people and this I\nassure you it doesn’t happen to everyone. Being ten of us, three of us were\nhosted in a structure adjacent to the “L and B” owned by another\nchampagne house, equipped with a few wonderful suites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have been to the Maison Belle Epoque several times,\nso I gladly gave my seat to a friend of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as we arrived in our rooms we went to visit\nthe beautiful cellars dug out of the chalk and then went again to the Maison\nBelle Epoque where we tasted three commercially available champagnes: the Belle\nEpoque Blanc de Blancs 2012, the Belle Epoque 2014 and the Belle Epoque ros\u00e9\n2013. What a good start!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After this tasting we rested for an hour and then had\nan aperitif drinking the non-vintage Blanc de Blancs. From the windows of the\nbar room in which there were about a hundred old and non-old glasses, each one\ndifferent from the other, we were asked to choose a glass for the aperitif,\nwith the friendly and competent chef de Cave S\u00e9verine Frerson, who succeeded\nHerv\u00e9 deschamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We then took a seat in the dining room and we were\nintroduced to chef S\u00e9bastien Morellon, a pupil of Pierre Gagnaire who told us\nabout his menu for the evening which was accompanied in order to Blanc del\nBlanc s.a., the Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 1993 , the Belle Epoque 1998, the\nvintage 1988 and the Belle Epoque ros\u00e9 1999. What can I say, during dinner we\ncommented on the food, the champagnes and the perfect pairings, while S\u00e9verine\ntold us about the experience she is having inside the Maison. I complimented\nher on the stupendous Belle Epoque 2013 endowed with finesse, elegance and\ncharacter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After saying goodbye to S\u00e9verine, we went to our rooms\nto rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next morning we all gathered at the Maison to\nshare an excellent breakfast and then, go and see the two most important\nChardonnay parcels for Perrier Jouet “Bourrons leroy” and ”\nBourrons du midi”. The day, like the previous one, was chilly but kissed\nby the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we stopped to see the vineyards, Leo gave us a\nfurther surprise, he pulled glasses and two bottles of Belle Epoque Blanc de\nBlancs 2012 out of a bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All joyful we did not hold back and we toasted thanking\nLeo for the wonderful surprise. Happy for the surprise, we left for Reims to\nallow those of us who had never seen the Cathedral before to visit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I went with Leo, Valerio Mearini and Alberto Lupetti\nto look for a cheese shop, the best, and having found it, we went in and Leo\nbought several cheeses for some of his friends who had asked him for them for\ndinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During our stop in the shop a very nice and smiling\nlady came in and asked us if we liked the champagne. We answered yes to that\nquestion and she asked us if we liked Krug champagne. Obviously we said yes and\nthat we knew Oliver and Remy Krug and the lady smiling said that Olivier was\nher nephew and that Renny was her husband. We were speechless! What a great and\npleasant surprise. Alberto reminded the lady that he had written a book about\nKrug and had sent a copy to Remy. We said goodbye to Mrs. Krug, happy to have\nmet her by chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after we joined the others to go to Brasserie Le\nJardin, Domaine Les Cray\u00e8res. Leo surprised us by having invited Herv\u00e9\nDeschamps to lunch, who was celebrated with his wonderful Belle Epoque Blanc de\nBlancs 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very pleasant lunch. Having said\ngoodbye to Herv\u00e9, we went to the Paris airport to return each to their own\ncity. We were all happy and satisfied by this wonderful experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valerio had the idea of taking\nthe empty magnum of the Belle Epoque ros\u00e9 1999 which he had to put in his\nluggage without protection, not having been able to take it with him as hand\nluggage. The mystery was: will the bottle arrive intact or broken?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon arrival in Florence, the\nluggage was opened and the bottle was…… intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s come to the notes of the\nchampagnes tasted and drunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE BLANC DE BLANCS, vintage 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 100% Chardonnay)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Beautiful bright golden yellow. The bubbles are quite\nfine and then very fine and quite numerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The olfactory stage shows aromas of pineapple,\nminerals, sweets from the outside of the sugared almond, white flowers,\nsaltiness, graphite, Marseille soap, mentholates, green tea, sour rennet apple,\nending with hints of almond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate it is a riot of pleasure with fine and\ncaressing bubbles and flavors of lemon and yellow grapefruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is medium and the wine is well balanced, the\nfreshness and minerality completely dominate the alcohol mass. Its gustatory\npersistence is long with a finish of hard candy (charms) with lemon, lime and a\nvery finish of acacia honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final honey mitigates the freshness a bit. In my\nexperience this is the best blanc de blancs ever made by the Maison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first year of production was 1993 but never in my experience have I tasted a blanc de blancs as complex as the 2012. (98\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE, vintage 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 50% Chardonnay, 45%\nPinot Noir e 5% Pinot Meunier)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiny golden yellow dress with fine and numerous\nbubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intense aromas of mineral and blond leather rise from\nthe glass followed by wild strawberries, slightly green rennet apple (reminds\nme of the core) light varnish enamel, green tea, anemone, cocoa butter for lips\n(lip gloss), ripe banana, to finish with pinches of Coccoina glue (coconut and\nalmond milk).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pleasant sip with fine bubbles and medium body, not\nvery generous. Sapid and mineral wine with freshness in relief on the alcoholic\nmass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its persistence is long, more than for the structure,\nfor the acidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lemon and green apple finish. I remember the 2013 very well, which surprised me positively for its finesse, elegance and structure. (93\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE ROSE’, vintage 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 50% Pinot Noir, 45 %\nChardonnay, e 5% Pinot Meunier)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Old pink color with fine and numerous bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bouquet made of scents of Marseille soap, raspberry,\nwild strawberry, almond shell, blond leather, bitter, russet pear, intense\nminerals, Saronno amaretto and green banana peel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is medium, fine, elegant with fine bubbles.\nWell balanced wine with the freshness in complete prominence on the alcohol\nmass. Its gustatory persistence is long with a bitter and amaretto finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (95\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BLANC DE BLANCS \nnot vintage <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 100% Chardonnay, with a prevalence of the\n2016 vintage) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It shines light golden yellow. The bubbles are fine\nand numerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfumes of parsley, fresh celery, sweets from the outside of the candy, pineapple, cotton wool (fabric starch), iodine rise from the glass, ending with mineral puffs. Tasting with quite fine bubbles and medium body. Balanced, savory, mineral wine, with flavors of parsley and fresh celery that remain during its long persistence. (90\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE Blanc de Blancs, vintage 1993<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 100% Chardonnay)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This champagne was\ncreated by the very good chef de Cave Herv\u00e9e Deschamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Golden yellow coat\nwith very fine and quite numerous bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Magical nose,\npleasantly captivating made up of aromas of popcorn (mineral), acacia honey,\nsweets from the outside of the sugared almond, intense juniper berry and\nvanilla. The olfactory journey continues with notes of ripe jujube, cotton wool\n(starch), flint, lemon peel, lemon tea, ending with chamomile puffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On tasting it has a\nmedium-sized body, a slightly bitter flavour, accompanied by juniper berries\nand lemon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wine with excellent gustatory balance with the freshness that dominates the alcohol mass. Long but not very long is its intense gustatory persistence with juniper berry finish. (94\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE, vintage 1998<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes : 50% Pinot Noir, 45%\nChardonnay e 5% Pinot Meunier)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Formato Magnum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Magnum format<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiny gold with fine and quite numerous bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olfactory mix made of almond shell aromas, intense\nrubber, mineral, orange peel, anemone, juniper berry, caper, blond leather,\nanchovy light, ending with zabaglione hints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pleasant mouth, the body is medium plus, flavors of almond shell, lemon zest. Well balanced wine with freshness and minerality that dominate the alcoholic mass without second thoughts. Its intense aromatic persistence is long. (97\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Millesimato, vintage 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes: 1\/3 Pinot Noir, 1\/3\nChardonnay e 1\/3 Pinot Meunier)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Magnum Format<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It shines golden yellow. The bubbles are fine and\nquite numerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The olfactory meeting is very pleasant, one can\nperceive aromas of juniper berries and intense flint and vanilla. Followed by\nhints of white pepper, gunpowder, almond, salted grilled meat, popcorn\n(minerals), anemone, rubber, ending with hints of almond coconut milk (colla\nCoccoina).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mouth satisfied by a medium body and fine bubbles.\nPerfect balance between freshness, minerality and alcohol. The latter is\nimperceptible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long is its intense aromatic persistence with a bitter\norange finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is not excessive, it becomes thinner and at\nthat point it is the freshness that allows the wine to lengthen its\npersistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This version is not the Belle Epoque with the usual blend but is a simple (so to speak) vintage with a different blend. (97\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MAISON PERRIER JOUET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n BELLE EPOQUE Ros\u00e8, vintage 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Grapes: 50% Pinot Noir, 45%\nChardonnay e 5% Pinot Meunier)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Magnum format<\/p>\n\n\n\n The color is antique pink and the bubbles are fine and\nnumerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nose is varied and pleasant with aromas of\nraspberry, ripe banana, mint, eucalyptus, juniper berry, bitter, flint,\nCoccoina glue (almond milk), violet, blond leather, rust, ending with whispers\nof green pepper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pleasantness of the palate is also given by the\nfine and caressing bubbles. Rich and broad wine with flavors of raspberry and\nrust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its gustatory balance is perfect thanks to the generous freshness and minerality that completely overwhelm the alcoholic mass. Its aromatic persistence is long and intense with a fruity and mineral finish. (100\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They have been two intense days, full of pleasure and\nsatisfaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leo Damiani, commercial and marketing director of the bubbles sector of Marchesi Antinori s.p.a., importer in Italy of the champagnes of the Maison Perrier Jouet and member of Les Enfants du champagne, organized a visit to Epernay, to the Maison Perrier Jouet. It took about a year and a half to manage to combine everyone’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[569,570,137],"class_list":["post-12638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-gita-epernay","tag-leo-damiani-les-enfants-du-champagne","tag-paolo-baracchino","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG-20230210-WA0050.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pav13q-3hQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12638"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12643,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12638\/revisions\/12643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}