LANSON

One of France’s oldest champagne houses, Lanson was founded in 1760 by François Delamotte. Lanson for many years had a unique house style, choosing not to use malolactic fermentation and boasting extensive vineyard ownership across the region. In the 1990s Moët & Chandon purchased Lanson, only to own the company for less than 200 days before onselling the house and retaining its vineyards. Cellar Master at the time, Jean-Paul Gordon, didn’t waste any time in securing excellent contracts with some of the best vineyards in the region, managing to somehow retain access to the level of fruit quality that Lanson had always enjoyed.

Jean-Paul retired in 2015, and Lanson is now part of the Lanson BCC group, second only in scale to Moët. Their no-malolactic fermentation policy has not been continued for a portion of the wine that is used in the blend, with this change only now starting to appear in the cuvée that we see on the market. The latest Lanson release is a 100% organic champagne, a blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Meunier that has undergone lees aging for 36 months and has a dosage of 9g/l. The organic vineyard the fruit is sourced from was purchased in 2010 when owner Pascal Leclerc-Briant died, allowing Lanson to acquire 13ha.