PERRIER-JOUËT – A love of art …
The bottle decorated with Emile Gallé’s design was secretly stored in the Perrier-Jouët cellars and unveiled at the end of the Sixties for the launch of the prestige cuvée, Belle Epoque. Depicted at the height of their freshness and vitality, the anemones became the icon of an entire brand that elevated the Belle Epoque to a philosophy of life and Art Nouveau to a unique field of artistic expression. For special occasions and in the world’s best restaurants, the Belle Epoque cuvée flaunts its delicate anemones, the symbol of a wine with unique consistency.
For this limited edition, Hervé Deschamps, Perrier-Jouët’s cellar master, has chosen the 2004 vintage, as “the perfect expression of an exceptional year, the absolute essence of Perrier-Jouët.” After ageing for six years, this vintage now expresses the elegant, floral, diamond-cut style of the brand, and the best Côte des Blancs chardonnays. Stylish and silky, this vintage has an exceptionally long finish and a taste that hints at flowers and white fruit before evolving into slightly spicy notes of fresh marzipan.
In 1902, master glassworker Emile Gallé designed an exquisite swirl of white Japanese anemones for Perrier-Jouët. This artwork illustrated the spirit of the Art Nouveau movement, adding poetry to everyday objects. With their elegance and springtime vitality, these anemones testify to this adventurous new style that paid tribute to Japanese art and drew inspiration from the primal force of nature. Organic lines and forms, crisscrossing stems and leaves—this work has become the emblem of the Belle Epoque cuvée and, by extension, the iconic image of a champagne house recognised the world over for its links to the art world. Emile Gallé designed these anemones in response to a request from Henri Gallice, head of Perrier-Jouët since 1877. Like his predecessors before him, the young man met painters, sculptors and all those who were, in this new century, playing a role in the renewal of the decorative arts. Perrier-Jouët has passed on this artistic philosophy since its very foundation, perpetuating an appreciation of fine art. The Maison Belle Epoque, the historic Perrier family home, now a guesthouse for visiting VIPs, is further evidence of this inheritance; its interior houses no fewer than 200 original works by some of the greatest Art Nouveau masters. Emile Gallé’s choice of Japanese anemones reveals not only his passion for botany but also his admiration for Japanese art and a culture that is characterised by its love of nature, a love that is crystallised in the Japanese art of floral composition, that attempts to connect man to his environment by exalting flowers and drawing on their symbolism. The well-known Japanese floral artist Makoto Azuma works within this tradition, while demonstrating genuine originality. So when it was decided at Perrier-Jouët to commission a first ever artwork for the Belle Epoque cuvée, he was a natural choice.
