Wine: Prince Laurent Brut Rose Champagne
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Designation: Champagne
Brand/Producer: Prince Laurent
Grape Varietal: 60% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir & 20% Pinot Meunier
ABV: 12.5%
Type: Sparkling
Code: 1647
 
Tasting Note
The colour is an enticing shimmering pink leading on to a plentiful mousse with a delicate perlage of fine bubbles.  The nose is fruity with ripe red fruits and citrus, The palate has plenty of juicy cherries and strawberries enlivened by pink grapefruit. The finish lingers on with cherries and some mineral notes.

Producer
Laurent, descendant of a long line of winemakers grew up on his family’s vineyard in Champagne. In 1914, during the First World War, Laurent had to leave in family to join the army. He survived the war and returned back to his hometown. It was such a miracle for his family and friends that they welcomed him as a Prince. Hence his nickname, the Prince of Champagne.

Thanks to his expertise and confidence he elaborated a special Cuvee that he named Prince Laurent.
The Prince Laurent Champagnes are still inspired by Laurent with strict adherence to the traditional Champagne method, and a rigorous selection of the best grapes to produce his favourite wines.

Winemaking
Grapes are harvested by hand from select vineyards in the Marne area of Champagne. The rose d’assemblage or blended pink wine method is used for this wine. A white base wine is made of the champagne grapes. In addition, some of the Pinot Noir grapes are used to make a red wine. A small portion of this red wine is added to the white wine before the secondary fermentation in bottle. Apart from the delicate pink colour, this addition also contributes some signature cherry flavours of Pinot Noir. The wine is aged for 9 months in bottle.

Fun Fact
Early champagnes were pink in colour, and it took several decades to for them to develop a system to make white sparkling wines.
It is more labour intensive to make rose champagnes, thus they are often sold at a premium to white champagnes.

Food pairing
Since rose champagne has more intense flavours than white champagne, it can be paired with a wider variety of dishes including meat tartare, fish ceviche, shellfish and oily fish. It is also suitable for desserts with red fruits like cherry clafoutie and strawberry desserts.