On April 6, Perrier-Jouët is reopening the doors of Belle Epoque Society at its historic site on Avenue de Champagne, Epernay. This season offers several new experiences, in particular The Pollination Dance, an installation by the Mexican artist Fernando Laposse, exhibited exclusively at the Cellier Belle Epoque. A cultural immersion in perfect harmony with the new culinary experiences offer.
Belle Epoque Society, a destination at the crossroads of three worlds
Designed like an ecosystem of experiences combining art, nature and champagne, Belle Epoque Society is the perfect expression of the heritage created by Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adélaïde Jouët, the founders of Perrier-Jouët. Several destinations are brought together on one site – the Cellier Belle Epoque, Maison Belle Epoque, the Boutique and L’Atelier. Belle Epoque Societyembodies the philosophy that these two aesthetes carried in their souls: putting Nature at the centre of their commitments and enhancing its expression. This inexhaustible source of inspiration underlies all the Maison’s actions
to promote biodiversity in its vineyards, a host favoured by pollinators.
The Cellier Belle Epoque displays an exclusive artwork by Fernando Laposse
Perrier-Jouët’s active approach to vine protection led to a creative dialogue with the Mexican artist Fernando Laposse, who has produced an artwork that is truly one of a kind. The Pollination Dance crystallises the ephemeral poetry of the multiple interactions between plants and pollinators – a phenomenon essential to the birth of a new life cycle, renewed every Spring.
The Cellier Belle Epoque curation has evolved this season to welcome this new art installation. Fernando Laposse has outlined the contours of a dreamlike garden, where the borders with reality are intentionally intriguing. Visitors are invited to observe at close quarters the ballet of insects swirling around these imaginary flowers, spreading the nourishing pollen, represented by yellow sand. Unveiled at Design Miami/ in December, this installation is being exhibited for the first time at the Cellier Belle Epoque, which regularly hosts the Perrier-Jouët artists in residence.
The experience continues with the Cellier Belle Epoque convivial gastronomic menu
The Maison’s Art Nouveau heritage is also reinterpreted through a convivial culinary experience in the Cellier Belle Epoque Champagne Bar, with sharing dishes such as Eggs mimosa, Salmon tartare and the Cellier’s famous Caesar salad.
This season, the Champagne Bar & restaurant have expanded their lunch and dinner menu (both can be reserved online), by introducing a tasting menu. To accompany the discovery of the Perrier-Jouët wines selected by Cellar master Séverine Frerson, Chef Sébastien Morellon has devised a signature menu revolving around two cuvées: Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs et Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé. The first features a marinated salmon terrine, followed by Champagne-grown poultry stuffed with peppers, while the second has a vegetarian theme, with the spotlight on seasonal vegetables such as courgette, radish or cucumber.
In April and October, the Cellier Belle Epoque is open Thursday to Monday, from 11.30am to 8.30pm (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
From May to September, the Cellier Belle Epoque is open every day from 11.30am to 8.30pm Sunday to Thursday, and from 11.30am to 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Throughout the year, the Tasting Menu is available via online booking for lunch and dinner at 80€ per person. The A la Carte Menu is available all day without reservation.
https://www.perrier-jouet.com/en-ww/visit-us/le-cellier
Prolong the Belle Epoque Society signature experience with the Boutique and L’Atelier
L’Atelier is located near the Champagne Bar and offers a programme of experiences throughout the season. Tastings designed to introduce guests to champagne, the cuvées and the history of Perrier-Jouët take place in this light-filled setting.
Opening onto the Courtyard Garden, the Perrier-Jouët Boutique offers a snapshot of the Belle Epoque Society experience, bringing together all the Perrier-Jouët creations in one place. The wines are offered for sale with a bespoke personalisation service. The shop also contains an exclusive range of artwork, including artists’ limited editions, in particular Fernando Laposse, plus collector’s books and elegant stationery accessories.
L’Atelier is open from May to September, subject to reservation.
The Perrier-Jouët Boutique is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 6.30pm.
Spring arrives at the Maison Belle Epoque table
Opposite the Cellier Belle Epoque, the elegant Maison Belle Epoque is home to Perrier-Jouët’s Art Nouveau heritage, containing the largest private collection of French Art Nouveau in Europe, with remarkable pieces by Guimard, Majorelle and Gallé. It is also a place to enjoy a unique gastronomic experience from a menu with six sequences devised by triple-starred Michelin Chef Pierre Gagnaire and Chef Sébastien Morellon, in collaboration with Séverine Frerson, Perrier-Jouët’s Cellar master.
“For this spring menu, I selected brightly coloured champagnes, revealing a highly elegant aromatic palette, often with floral, fruity notes. My idea was that this tasting experience should be like a preview of the fine summer days to come,” confides Séverine Frerson.
This six-sequence menu, designed by two chefs, displays the full aromatic palette of the most prestigious Perrier-Jouët champagnes. For the starter, Séverine Frerson chose a PerrierJouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 2012, which blends perfectly with the freshness of white asparagus pannacotta in tarragon. The gastronomic delight continues with the same cuvée, whose minerality is in perfect harmony with a miso-basted turbot fillet in a kombu seaweed broth.
The third champagne to be tasted from this exceptional menu is the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Brut 2014, which has been chosen by Séverine Frerson to accompany two dishes: blue lobster in liquorice and eggs
poached at 67 degrees with fresh Morel mushrooms. Its vine peach notes make this champagne highly versatile.
“Like a painting, Pierre Gagnaire and I wanted to play on the contours and contrasts of the dishes, to highlight the depth and elegance of the Perrier-Jouët vintage champagnes,” explains Sébastien Morellon.
This creative approach led the chef to select Wagyu beef tenderloin hearts to counterbalance the notes of pink grapefruit and mandarin in the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rosé 2013. The champagne, as well as the artwork by Fernando Laposse, inspired him to create a sweet course in the spirit of a farandole of desserts, consisting of a millefeuille, a syrup-coated strawberry, and an Agen prunes ravioli sprinkled with fennel pollen. Sweet or savoury, these creative combinations are in perfect harmony with the top-flight gastronomic experience offered at the Maison Belle Epoque.
When the weather permits, lunch and dinner will be served on the outdoor terrace leading into the rural garden of the Maison Belle Epoque.
The Maison Belle Epoque gastronomic menu is available for lunch on weekdays for €350 per person.
About Maison Perrier-Jouët
Maison Perrier-Jouët was founded in 1811 from a couple’s shared love of nature and passion for art. From the start, they chose the Chardonnay grape variety as the signature of the House, defining the floral style which sets Perrier-Jouët champagnes apart. Today, art and nature remain an endless source of inspiration, guiding our every action and creation: the way we tend our vines, craft our wines, and share our vision of the world.
