Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
After a license in cellular biology and plant physiology, Maximilien obtained the national diploma of oenologist in June 2008 in Dijon. Following a first experience in Burgundy, he joined Sofralab as a consultant oenologist in Champagne. There he acquired in-depth experience in the cultivation of vines and Champagne winemaking. He will work with Christine Carré, head of winemaking at the Laurent-Perrier Group, which she joined in 2000.
Succeeding Michel Fauconnet and still before him Alain Terrier, Maximilien Bernardeau has just been appointed cellar master of Maison Laurent-Perrier. He will continue to report to Michel Fauconnet. It is in Champagne the second announcement of appointment of cellar master of the week, after Maison Vranken which appointed Pierre-Hubert Crozat.
Maximilien Bernardeau holds a degree in cell biology and plant physiology. He obtained his DNO in 2008 at the University of Diijon before working for the company Sofralab as a consultant oenologist in Champagne where he first practiced in Aube from 2008 to 2014 then in Marne since 2014.
He joined Maison Laurent-Perrier in January 2023 and as of today, he will hold the position of cellar master and wine manager for the Laurent-Perrier group.
This brings together the houses of Laurent-Perrier in Tours-sur-Marne, Salon and Delamotte in Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Champagne de Castellane in Épernay.
It is the property of the Nonancourt family, the two daughters of Bernard de Nonancourt, Alexandra and Stéphanie, watching over the destiny of the company since his death in 2010. Maison Laurent-Perrier, founded in 1812, operates a wine estate of just over 150 hectares which represents around 10% of its supplies.
Laurent-Perrier
★★★★
Laurent-Perrier is the biggest success story in Champagne since World War II. The family firm was on the verge of going under in the early 1950s, but is now among the largest and most respected companies in all of Champagne. The house was founded by Monsieur Laurent, a cooper from Chigny-les-Roses. His son married Mathilde Perrier, a stubbornly ambitious woman who really established the house. World War I strained to the limit the house’s chances of survival, as several of the appointed heirs were killed.
Marie-Louise de Nonancourt bought the firm just as World War II broke out, and her son, whom she had groomed to run the company, was killed in that war. Her other son, the legend Bernard, survived despite playing a leading role in the Resistance, and later returned home to take over the business in an outstanding way.
Today, Laurent-Perrier is part of a holding company that controls several other famous wine-producers in France, including the Champagne houses Salon, Delamotte, Lemoine, and De Castellane. Laurent-Perrier themselves own 150 ha of vineyards with two environmental certificates in feb’18.but have contracts with growers covering around 800 hectares. The former chef de cave Michel Fauconnet is known for his clinically clean cuvées, where oxidation is avoided at all costs. Chef de caves since june’23 is Maximilien Bernardeau. L-P is widely praised for their fruity and elegant cuvées. The nonvintage, rosé, Ultra Brut and the vintage wine are all faithful old servants.
The house’s real trump card is Grand Siècle both as white and as Alexandra Rosé—two wines that beautifully carpets even the most fastidious palate. Two wonderfully complex, world-class Champagnes.
