Celebrating over Two Centuries of Determined Women & Remarkable Champagnes.
Our success and longevity is inextricably linked to the efforts of many strong women who have been part of the house since our founding in 1812.
One of our most exclusive and limited champagnes is named in honor of Alexandra.
Our history of remarkable women begins with our house’s namesake, Mathilde Emilie Laurent-Perrier. In 1887 her husband Eugene Laurent, then our owner and cellar master, died in an accident in the cellars. Instead of selling the house that she inherited, Mathilde-Emilie decided to take the reins, and the house flourished under her leadership.
When she passed away in 1925, she left the house to her daughter, Eugenie who ran Laurent-Perrier until 1939 when she decided to sell it – to another woman, named Marie Louise Lanson de Nonancourt. Champagne Laurent-Perrier is still to this day owned and run by women of the de Nonancourt family – specifically Marie Louise’s two granddaughters, Stephanie and Alexandra de Nonancourt.
Has Alexandra always worked in the family business?
Despite having grown up at the House of Laurent-Perrier in the tiny village of Tours-sur-Marne, France, Alexandra didn’t join the company until 1988.
After graduating with a degree in Interior Design from the Camondo School in Paris, she began her professional life with an internship at a prestigious perfume house there. She continued on this path and became the Head of Perfume Creation for Paco Rabanne, a role which she held from 1985 to 1987.
In 1988, Alexandra returned to Laurent-Perrier and worked in France and abroad. She became the head of the House’s marketing department in 1992, and in 1997, she became a member of Laurent-Perrier’s Executive Management Board. Today, Alexandra is fully involved in many aspects of Laurent- Perrier’s business, with her primary focus being the strategy and development of this fiercely independent and family-owned house.
Tell us more about the champagne that bears Alexandra’s name.
Laurent-Perrier is best known for Cuvée Rosé, our iconic nonvintage pink champagne, which we have been making since 1968. In 1982, Alexandra’s father, Bernard de Nonancourt, decided to attempt the creation of the absolute epitome of high-end rosé champagne.
After many trials, Bernard and his cellar-master pioneered an entirely new way to craft rosé champagne: they decided to combine chardonnay grapes, which are white, and pinot noir grapes, which are red, in the same tank for both maceration and fermentation. This is a very difficult thing to do, because it means that all of the grapes have to achieve perfect ripeness and be harvest on the same exact day, and this happens very rarely in Champagne.
Because we have to wait for the perfect vintage conditions for this to happen, we can only make Alexandra in the most extraordinary years. We’re currently offering our 2004 vintage, which is only our 7th release of Alexandra since 1982. The consensus among experts is that 2004 is one of the best vintages of the last two decades.
We are limited to making a very small number of bottles for each release because we use grapes exclusively from the top Grand Cru vineyards in the Champagne region. Despite the challenges in making Alexandra, we are rewarded by an intricately woven and unique champagne worthy of bearing one of our owner’s names. Today, Alexandra is fully involved in many aspects of Laurent- Perrier’s business, with her primary focus being the strategy and development of this fiercely independent and family-owned house.
Are there any plans to release a cuvée named after Stephanie?
Not at the moment, although we like to joke that the big “S” on the label of Salon champagne secretly stands for Stephanie. Laurent-Perrier owns the renowned champagne house of Salon, and we share the same cellar master.
Is there a story behind the bottle shape and label?
Even though we love to innovate, we always do so in a way that’s respectful of our history. The singular form of the Alexandra bottle was inspired by the 17th century hand-blown bottles that contained the very first sparkling champagnes served at the French Royal Court. The label itself is decorated with gold powder.
For purchasing Cuvée Alexandra and a wide variety of high-end wines:
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