Winemaker Notes
A pale, translucent gold, with radiant clarity and subtle glints of apple green. An impression of freshness and delicacy, with distinctive aromas of white fruit and flowers. An exceptional combination of freshness and finesse.
Blend: 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 5% Meunier
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Subtle aromas of cooked apples and minerals with chalk and salt. Brioche, too. Full-bodied with a beautiful center palate of strawberry tart, apple pie and some cream. Bright and refined with a long, persistent finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of the iconic brand, with its flowery Belle Epoque bottle, is ready to be popped. The high dosage has transformed into mature toastiness, while ripe white fruits still give freshness.
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Wine Spectator
There's a sense of equilibrium to this graceful Champagne, with a bright spine of acidity easily transitioning the focus to flavors of poached apricot, lemon curd, toasted brioche and ground ginger, then transitioning again on the finish where the finely creamy mousse and subtle hint of smoky mineral hold sway. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Drink now through 2031. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Perrier-Jouët's newly released 2013 Brut Belle Epoque is a giving, demonstrative wine that bursts from the glass with scents of mirabelle plum, confit citrus, buttery pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and charming, it's seamless and elegant, with a pinpoint mousse and a fleshy core of fruit that's amplified by enough dosage to be noticeable. A touch finer-boned than the similarly successful 2012, it constitutes another fine effort from this house.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
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.’