Winemaker Notes
A white gold color with a fine and persistent effervescence. A nose offering notes of lemon, white peach and fruits in syrup followed by aromas of toasted bread and toasted almonds. Fresh at first which gives way to a lively, elegant and complex palate with aromas of white fruits and citrus zest. Héritage offers a perfect balance between freshness, elegance and maturity with notes of fl oral honey.
Héritage pairs perfectly with delicate dishes. The wine enhances dishes such as a poultry pie, a puff pastry with mushrooms or turbot with champagne sauce.
Blend: 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A new premium brut that shows more depth than Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvee. Full-bodied but not overly rich or oxidative. Juicy and flavorful. A subtle, pretty transparency at the end, dry with light tension. Nice complexity. Five years on the lees. 55% chardonnay and 45% pinot noir. Dosage 6 g/L.
-
Decanter
This new multi-vintage cuvée feels very at home in Laurent-Perrier's lineup, displaying some density and concentration evident in the choice of the reserve wines from all around Champagne which constitute the blend from 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2014. Led by 55% Chardonnay, with the balance Pinot Noir, there's a super-ripe, juicy orange fruit and tropical lilt to the profile here, with succulent apricot, pear and lemon peel pulled into quite a firm, tightly bound coil of structure. It's detailed with an energizing, super subtle twist of quinine-like bitterness and some richer roasted almond notes hinting at maturity. For now it feels complete, yet not fully unwound. There's fine, compressed intensity here that will emerge beautifully with a little time on cork or, failing that, enough time to warm up in the glass.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The NV Champagne Heritage Brut is Laurent-Perrier’s approach to celebrating their reserve wine. Since 1959, they have had Grand Siècle, and Heritage is another way to honor that philosophy, made entirely from reserve wines. A unique cuvée and a premium non-vintage expression, it carries all the complexity of the reserve base on the nose, with notes of fresh macaroon, meringue, citrus candies, pear, and all the floral prettiness. It’s still medium-bodied but has a lovely, rounded feel, with refreshing acidity that stays very well-balanced.
-
Wine Spectator
This sleek and harmonious Champagne is defined by chiseled acidity, a vivid driver for tightly meshed flavors of poached quince and white cherry fruit, preserved lemon, pastry, delicate ginger and anise. Long and creamy, with a minerally finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed entirely of reserve wines, incorporating the 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2014 vintages, Laurent-Perrier’s NV Brut Héritage is a blend of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. Disgorged in November 2024 with a dosage of six grams per liter, it bursts from the glass with aromas of peach, early-blooming white flowers and lemon confit mingling with notes of fresh bread. Medium-bodied and ample on the palate, it reveals a succulent, sweet-fruited core underpinned by racy acidity, leading to a lingering finish. Setting aside Grand Siècle and Alexandra, this stands out as the most compelling cuvée in this year’s lineup.
-
Vinous
The NV Brut Héritage, blended exclusively from reserve wines with half from Grand Crus, consists of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir and spent at least four years on lees. Lemon oil suffused with smoke and rye bread rind creates a subtle but enticing scent on the nose. Frothy, lively bubbles on the palate somewhat detract from the wine's underlying smoky nuance, which shimmers between smoky plum, sponge cake and lemon. This lovely wine will benefit from a little more bottle age. Dosage is 6 grams per liter.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’