This year, Maison Perrier-Jouët is celebrating the anniversary of a flower that has become not only a symbol, but also an inspiration. The Japanese anemone, created 120 years ago by Emile Gallé, one of the pioneers of Art Nouveau, perfectly embodies the relationship with art and nature that has been rooted in the history of the House since 1811. To accompany this event, Maison Perrier-Jouët is unveiling its collaboration with the artist Garance Vallée at Unique Design x Paris from 19-23 October 2022. Alongside the exhibition, the House will be present at the Hôtel de Crillon for two exclusive dinners created by Boris Campanella, Executive Chef of the Crillon, and Pierre Gagnaire, 3-star Michelin Chef and ambassador of the Champagne House.

A dialogue between art, nature, champagne and gastronomy will delight Paris this autumn.

The origins of Perrier-Jouët's Art Nouveau heritage

Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adélaïde Jouët, who founded Maison Perrier-Jouët in 1811, passed on to the generations who came after them their passion for botany, their attachment to the terroir, their love of art – and their vision of champagne. First came their son, Charles Perrier, and then, in 1879, it was the turn of Henri and Octave Gallice to keep this heritage alive. The brothers, who were art collectors and aesthetes, met Emile Gallé in 1902. A noted botanist, he was one of the leaders of the Art Nouveau movement, which took nature as a source of inspiration for its free-flowing creativity. Emile Gallé decorated a Perrier-Jouët magnum with a spray of Japanese anemones, evoking the floral style of the House's champagnes. More than a century later, these flowers make the bottles of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque vintage cuvées recognisable throughout the world.

A dialogue between historical and contemporary Art Nouveau

Another Perrier-Jouët treasure: the largest private collection of French Art Nouveau in Europe – with remarkable pieces by Hector Guimard, Louis Majorelle and Emile Gallé, among others – is housed at the Maison Belle Epoque in Epernay. Every year since 2012, the House has collaborated with contemporary artists, to whom it entrusts the task of revisiting this remarkable heritage with a fresh creative impulse. After touring the world, these contemporary interpretations of Art Nouveau find their place at the Maison Belle Epoque, where they dialogue with the historic Art Nouveau collection.

The collaboration between Garance Vallée and Maison Perrier-Jouët: life forms united in symbiosis

An artist, architect and designer based in Paris, Garance Vallée is collaborating with Maison Perrier-Jouët this year to illustrate their shared vision of nature, expressed in all its diversity, and the place that humankind occupies in it. Garance Vallée shares her vision of one nature, in which all life forms are united to the point of forming a single entity. According to her, "Man is in nature, and nature is in Man" – a thought that resonates especially strongly with Maison Perrier-Jouët, which has cultivated a relationship of symbiosis with nature since 1811.

 'Planted Air': Garance Vallée's installation questions our relationship to the living world

Garance Vallée has created an art installation for Maison Perrier-Jouët, which will be unveiled at Unique Design x Paris, a nomadic platform presenting a new generation of international artists and designers, during its Paris edition, from 19-23 October 2022.

'Planted Air' is a reinterpretation of the ecosystem of the Champagne vineyard. An actor in this universal biodiversity, the visitor is invited to follow a path through the vines. Garance Vallée has created a microcosm in which each vine stock is a sculpture, which appears firmly rooted in the chalk-rich terroir of the Champagne region. Each vine reaches upwards with the vertical élan of nature from the earth to the sky.

Represented by organic forms that create a universal language tending towards abstraction, plant, animal and mineral life forms are united in symbiosis, an interdependency with no hierarchy. One nature in its most essential expression. Mixing plays on scale and reflections, Garance Vallée draws the visitor into the installation, bringing about an immersive experience of body and image within the space, through which she lays the foundation for a deeper questioning of our relationship to the living world.

Freely inspired by nature, the curves and arabesques of 'Planted Air' anchor the installation in a contemporary vision of Art Nouveau.  The artist chose authentic materials crafted by artisans: the solid blocks of limestone, sculpted by hand, are an evocation of the Champagne terroir, while the wrought iron, painstakingly hammered by a specialist craftsman, recalls the gates of the Maison Belle Epoque in Epernay.

Maison Perrier-Jouët enchants the Hôtel de Crillon

Maison Perrier-Jouët is offering an exclusive experience combining art, nature, champagne and gastronomy in the refined setting of the Hôtel de Crillon on 18 and 19 October 2022. During these two evenings, held in a private room in the Paris luxury hotel, guests will have privileged access to:

• The discovery of Perrier-Jouët's Art Nouveau collection: a selection of exceptional pieces have made the trip from Epernay to Paris for the occasion, including furniture signed by Emile Gallé, a reproduction of the original magnum decorated by the artist and some of his sketches, exquisite champagne glasses, and a work by Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as a number of treasures from the House archives;
• A preview of the installation 'Planted Air' by Garance Vallée at Unique Design x Paris;
• A gastronomic dinner by Boris Campanella, Executive Chef of the Hôtel de Crillon, and Pierre Gagnaire, 3-star Michelin Chef and ambassador of the Champagne House, to reveal the floral style and elegance of Perrier-Jouët wines, which inspired Emile Gallé 120 years ago.
  
  

The 120^th anniversary limited edition: the anemone of biodiversity

The 120^th anniversary is an ideal opportunity to celebrate the continuity of the style of the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque vintage cuvées, renowned for their richness, elegance and intense floral notes. Maison Perrier-Jouët is adding a creative twist to its Art Nouveau heritage by inviting the Austrian designers mischer'traxler to create a limited edition in which the iconic anemone undergoes a metamorphosis. Seventy species from the vineyards of the Champagne region mix and mingle to compose the anemone, in a vibrant, colourful and multi-layered representation of their interdependencies. This anemone of biodiversity illustrates the role all species – including mankind – play in the biological balance of the ecosystem to which they belong. It is this magnificent and complex whole which Maison Perrier-Jouët is helping to preserve, both in its vineyards and beyond.

Séverine Frerson's tribute to the style of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque

To mark this 120th anniversary, Perrier-Jouët Cellar Master Séverine Frerson is paying her own tribute to the unique style of the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque collection, exceptional vintage champagnes noted for their richness, elegance and intense floral notes.

Created in 1964, Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque was the very first champagne in the collection, and thus the first to appear in the famous bottle decorated with Emile Gallé's anemones. This iconic cuvée perpetuates the style and the philosophy of Maison Perrier-Jouët over time.

For the anniversary limited edition of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2013, Séverine Frerson has changed the dosage liqueur which is generally added to this cuvée. She has developed a liqueur derived from a 100% Chardonnay wine, crafted from the very finest grapes in the Perrier-Jouët vineyard: those produced by Bouron-Leroi, a legendary plot acquired by the founders of the House, which is situated within the Grand Cru village of Cramant in the Côte de Blancs.

Aging in oak casks enables this unique dosage liqueur to enrich the expression of the champagne's floral notes and to lend it an even silkier, more delicate texture, which Séverine Frerson compares to the petals of the Japanese anemone.

This limited edition of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2013 reflects Séverine Frerson's vision for the future of Maison Perrier-Jouët. She aims to further enhance the expression of Chardonnay, not only in its final blends, but also in its dosage liqueurs and reserve wines. By revealing the quintessence of the House's signature grape variety, Séverine Frerson will intensify the floral aromas of its wines and reveal new ones which further accentuate their depth, richness and textural nuances.