A few years ago – perhaps it was more than a few – I had one of my most heart warming experiences while working in a fine wine retail store in Manhattan. It would become one of the experiences that would inspire my subsequent thoughts regarding the importance of splurging on special wines.
A Stranger’s Struggle Isn’t Always Apparent
One day, I was working on the sales floor of a fine wine retailer. It was serendipitous that I was on the floor that day, since, most of the time, I worked answering the phones and writing web content for their website. A married couple, visiting from Texas, came in; the wife had a big smile, and the husband glanced down with a miserable look on his face. She started to talk to me about wanting to buy a special wine for them to enjoy in their hotel room – trying all the while to include her husband in the conversation – yet he did not speak a word and motioned that he wanted to leave. Eventually, he just wandered to the corner of the store to sulk.
Before I knew it, she moved in closer and whispered to me that her husband had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, so he had problems speaking clearly, felt embarrassed and simply defeated by life. By my rough estimation, they could not have been older than their mid-forties – they were in the prime of their lives. She wanted to take this trip to New York City to help lift his spirits – to show him that their days of making fun memories were not yet over. But he was complaining the whole trip – he just wanted to go home and resign himself to his fate.
I could see that the wife felt like she was at the end of her rope. She said that she didn’t know what to do and I’m sure the whole experience had been extremely overwhelming for her. She was trying with every ounce of strength she could muster to bring joy back into their lives, but she had her breaking point, like all of us, and she seemed to be reaching it, and so she was asking me for help.
Wine Lovers to the Rescue
At that moment, I walked over to her husband and started to share my love for wine and told them that I would be able to pick the ideal wine that would send them to the moon. His wife said that they had many romantic experiences with Rosé and Champagne wines, yet they had never had a Rosé Champagne. And so I knew that I needed to find the best Rosé Champagne for them. We were able to get her husband to join the conversation and, through time, I realized that they wanted an elegant Rosé Champagne with strong purity of fruit. I immediately thought of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Champagne, with its stunning, pristine, crunchy red fruit, intoxicating aromatics and overall sense of grace and charm. Also, the bottle is shaped in a sensual way that is indicative of how two love birds, such as this married couple, will feel once they drink this wine together. They started to blush and giggle a bit as I described why I thought this was the ideal wine for them to share during this romantic getaway.
Laurent-Perrier
I recently re-tasted the current release of the 100% Pinot Noir Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé NV, which brought this memory rushing back to me. The newest release is based on the 2008 vintage (90%) with the wine being made from 12 different crus, including grand crus such as Ambonnay and Bouzy, as well as others. It has all the complexity that one would expect from a top Rosé Champagne, yet it is able to display pure flavors of Pinot Noir that are breathtaking.
Also, I re-tasted the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle MV (Multi-Vintage), which is legendary among Champagne connoisseurs. It is always a blend of 3 complementary wines which have been declared vintages by Laurent-Perrier. The newest release is a blend of the declared vintages 2002, 1999 and 1998, and is a blend of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir from exclusively grand cru vineyards. If you love Champagne, it is a must-have at least once in your life. Grand Siècle is truly the epitome of a fine wine that can deliver intense, complex flavors with finesse and uplifting freshness.
Beautiful Memory with Laurent-Perrier
As I was brightening the mood of that married couple with the description of the Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé, a regular customer must have overheard our conversation because, before I knew it, he swung his arm around the husband and brought him around the store to show him all the goodies we had on display. His wife and I followed them and we spent a wonderful time laughing and talking about all of the good times we have had with wine. The husband even became so comfortable he started to talk, and seemed to lose the self-consciousness of his speech impediment as he chuckled and smiled and grabbed and hugged his wife.
As I handed the bag that contained the gorgeous bottle of Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé to his wife, she hugged me tightly and said with deep gratitude in her voice, “Thank you so much.” As I looked at her, she seemed to beam and I knew that there were a lot more good times to come for her and her husband. That experience reminded me why I have devoted so much of my life to wine. We all need to be inspired and there is no other beverage, in my mind, more inspirational than wine.
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Laurent-Perrier Samples Tasted on November 18th, 2016
–Cuvée Rosé Brut NV (Non-Vintage): A beautiful pale pink color with tinges of salmon and fine bubbles that caress the palate. The stunningly pristine wild strawberry aromas seductively invite one into the glass with hints of toast and spice.
SRP $99.99. 100% Pinot Noir from 12 different crus situated mainly in Montagne de Reims, including the grand crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne. The newest release is based on 2008 vintage (90%).
–Grand Siècle MV (Multi-Vintage): This wine dances in one’s head like a slow yet intense tango, with aromas of lemon blossom, honeysuckle and fresh tarragon with chalky minerality that carries along the precise, expressive finish.
SRP $149.99. 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. Grand Siècle is made from 100% grand cru vineyards in outstanding villages such as Avize, Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for Chardonnay; as well as Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Mailly. Always a blend of 3 complementary declared vintages – the newest release is from 2002, 1999 and 1998.
