CHAMPAGNE HENRI PERRIN
OFFER
Today we bring you an incredibly rare…possibly, a one-time opportunity. The events that lined up for us to acquire this Champagne make us count ourselves fortunate. We lucked onto Champagne Henri Perrin when we decided to visit a campus wine event at one of Paris’ most prestigious Ivy League colleges. We figured it’d be fun to see, and besides, it’s research!
Viola! There, in that gorgeously ornate, quintessentially French hall we met the Perrins, alumni of the college and founders of the event. And then, we tried their wonderful Champagne, which has become a daily quaff around the Thomas household!
Honestly, at this price point, it seems too good to be true! Stay tuned and read our STORY about why this Champagne is both delicious and affordable. The Perrin family’s journey has been remarkable. Also remarkable is that Vins Rare finds itself in the position of being THE ONLY RETAILER IN THE WORLD (including France) to sell Champagne Perrin.
Currently at 1.3 hectare, Perrin is a tiny estate, making Champagne in a traditional way. The non-vintage brut we are offering today has a base vintage of 2013, blended with 21% reserve wine, aged 9 years lees. The results are truly amazing! I’ve been tempted to charge more knowing many of you will think “at $29 - how could this one be worthwhile?” Instead, I decided to just pass along this incredible value, as an example of what is possible from many of the small growers brought to you cellar direct. None of the crazy middleman markups! This is an old school Champagne, offering great bottle bouquet but still amazingly fresh and energetic. I’ve brought you some incredible wine values over the years - this is by far my best Champagne Value Ever!
— STORY —
The Perrin family traces their ancestry back to February 1734, with a record of Christophe Perrin having his son Nicolas married in Festigny, the family’s village. During this period, the Perrin family had been flourishing under France’s longest ruling monarch, King Louis XIV. In a grand affair at Champagne’s capital of Reims, Louis XIV declared Champagne the kings’ crowning official wine and everyone in the region benefited from this anointment.
By the XIXth century, the Perrin estate had grown to more than 3 hectares. Though after that peak, the estate was progressively disintegrated into smaller parcels with each succession. Part of the family left the country, and the Perrin’s current grand-parents eventually left the Champagne region. The vines were left into the caring hands of a cousin, Bernard Vautrain.
By the 1970’s, Jean Perrin, grandson of Henri Perrin was a young professional in Paris, freshly graduated from the prestigious engineering school, l’École Polytechnique (aka “X”, for those in the know AND…it’s the university where VinsRare met them).
Jean Perrin’s future was bright and life in Paris was good, but still, the division and diminishment of the Perrin legacy saddened and preoccupied him. In a bold move, Jean decided to buy some of his cousin's (Bernard Vautrain) vineyards back, eventually re-aggregating 1.3ha, allowing him to resume the business of producing Champagne. After negotiating, they came to an arrangement. Vautrain would take care of the vines, with as few chemicals as possible, and Jean Perrin would make the Champagne, with his vision to produce an old and qualitative style. Jean Perrin had the means, time, and wanted to make an outstanding, traditional Champagne.
Once the deal was secured, Jean Perrin turned his attention to sales and distribution for the 3000 bottles he produced each year. Brilliantly, he turned to his alma mater which united two aspects of his life: inherited land in Champagne and the network of his prestigious university.
First, Perrin Champagne became the official Champagne of the X’s restaurant services, La Maison des Polytechniciens. Then, he created the event “The Oenophile Meetings of the Grandes Écoles”, which was first aimed at X alumni but quickly broadened to all French Ivy League schools. Soon, Jean was selling to his fellow-alumni’s large companies of France, who would in turn give the Champagne to their employees as company gifts. Today, this practice is no longer allowed due to recent French laws strictly prohibiting company gifts. This had been three quarters of the Perrin’s production, so when Vins Rare stumbled across this delightful Champagne house, they had bottles previously intended for these companies.
We had the pleasure of meeting Philippe, son of Jean Perrin (who is now 95!), his wife Catherine and their first grandchild, a charming and handsome 16 year old, eager to speak English…and all things Champagne!
And while Jean Perrin as stepped aside, so has Bernard Vautrain. Arnold his son now spends his days caring for their vineyards of equal planted to chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. On such a small estate, in a heavily bureaucratic country, organic certifications aren’t economically feasible. Still, the agriculture is as natural as it can be, with very low levels of treatments, grass between the rows, and manual handling. Their piece of land is very hilly, and extremely sunny. “Our vines are envied by all of our neighbors”, Philippe gushes, “we never had to suffer frost thanks to our exposure.”
The wine is then fermented according to the famous monk Dom Pérignon’s method and aged on the lees for 9 to 10 years, which is long even by Champagne standards. For context, Veuve Clicquot, a brand that advertises its wines’ aging, leaves them in the cellar for about 7 years.
The Perrin family has worked solely out of passion and do not make their primary living from Champagne. They consider the long age on lees a privilege. Jean Perrin wants it this way and Philippe and Catherine are determined to perpetuate the tradition of creating Champagne that has such a distinct taste - old champagne is truly something special!
The Perrin tradition is something we dearly hope to see continue in the future. They are in a period of transition, so it will depend on the heirs’ life choices… and perhaps even on our support. Since Jean Perrin is less involved, there isn’t the time for sales efforts. Perhaps Vins Rare can help out in that way. We’ll look forward to your feedback on this one!
