About

Perrier-Jouet is an easily recognizable popular champagne. The overall style is elegant, light and fruity. The prestige cuvee, Belle Epoque, is indeed a classy champagne that comes in a classy bottle with its iconic art nouveau anemones. Perrier-Jouet's quality is continually high and consistent.

Annual Production

Approximately 3 million bottles are produced annually. Production numbers vary year to year.

Producer Style

Perrier Jouet style is typically elegant creamy light and fruity.

Producer Type

Perrier Jouet has about 160 acres of vineyards for their champagne but they also purchase grapes from other growers. The French regulators designate Perrier Jouet as a Negociant Manipulant (a producer who buys grapes from growers).

Producer Website

www.perrier-jouet.com

People

Current Owner

Pernod Ricard

Cellar Master

Severine Frerson (since 2020)
Severine Frerson Is the eighth Perrier-Jouet cellar master and the first woman to hold the position.

Director of the House

Francois-Xavier Morizot

 

History

Perrier-Jouët was founded in 1811 by Pierre-Nicolas-Marie Perrier and his wife, Adele Jouët. Pierre appended his wife’s maiden name to his surname to create the brand. Under Pierre’s guidance the firm was shipping wine to Great Britain by 1813 and to the United States by 1837. Perrier-Jouët claims to be the first house to display the vintage year on its bottles. Pierre’s son, Charles, further enhanced the firm’s reputation by supplying wine to the courts of Queen Victoria, Napolean III, and other royalty.

The house was passed down to Charles’ nephew, Henri Gallice, who worked with artist Émile Gallé to design the iconic Art Nouveau anemones for the bottle in 1902. The house continues to embrace and expand the Art Nouveau dynamism still today with enhanced designs and concepts (see the Belle Epoque webpage for more information on the art and the bottle). The Perrier-Jouët cellar master since 1993, Hervé Deschamps, is only the seventh chef de cave in the house’s 200 year history.

Louis Budin married into the Gallice family and took over after Henri. In 1959, Louis’ son, Michel Budin took control. 1959 was the same year the house was acquired by the Mumm group, which was the first of several changes in ownership. In 1969, the Mumm group was acquired by the Canadian based Seagram group. Seagram sold Perrier-Jouët and Mumm to a private investment group in 1999 who sold it a few months later to Allied Domecq. Allied Domecq was acquired by Pernod Ricard the following year. Both Perrier-Jouët and Mumm remain under the Pernod Ricard umbrella.

Perrier-Jouët is one of the most prestigious houses in Champagne. They own approximately 160 acres of vineyards in Champagne. The average rating of their vineyards is over 95% and includes many grand cru designations such as Cramant and Avize in the Cotê des Blancs for Chardonnay and Mailly in the Montagne de Reims for Pinot Noir. Their vineyard holdings supply of about one third of the production needs. The oldest known bottles of champagne in existence today, the Vintage 1825 Perrier-Jouët, are stored in the cellars of the esteemed house. In 2009, one of the three bottles was opened and tasted by 12 world renowned wine tasters.