Wine Country: France

Wine Subregion: Champagne

It’s not every day that such a terrific Champagne value drops in my lap but when it does, I am quick to scoop it up and share it with our valued PRIMA customers.  This isn’t just any Champagne either; rather, it’s the very well-known Champagne house of Lanson, founded in Reims in the year 1760, making it Champagne’s second oldest established producer.  (Champagne Gosset was founded in 1584)  With such a long history, Lanson has some pretty significant holdings in the region and the financial resources to distribute their wine around the world.  In fact, 85% of their production is exported, led by their non-vintage Brut, which they simply refer to as “Le Black” for its easily recognizable black label.  Sourced from several renowned villages in the Montagne de Reims region, including Dizy, Verzenay and Trepail, it is very classic in style, a blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier. The resulting wine is approximately 50% Grand Cru and Premier Cru, aged on the lees for four years and finished with a relatively dry 8 grams per liter dosage.  The additional of reserve wine adds another dimension of complexity to this extremely delicious Champagne.  A richer, more textural style, the wine is beautifully balanced with excellent depth of flavor, a touch of yeastiness and a very fine bubble; perfect on its own and wonderful with your dinner repast.  Lanson, by the way, is very committed to environmental issues and farms biodynamically in their 16-hectare vineyard, named Domaine de la Malmaison.  They also work with other growers who are similarly minded to supply the rest of their needs. As I mentioned earlier, Lanson is a major producer in Champagne and their portfolio includes a number of different cuvées, from Blanc de Blancs to their ultra-premium wine, the vintage-dated Lanson Noble.  The reason we have such a great price on this prestigious wine is that the house of Lanson is undergoing a thorough re-branding; modernizing the labels of all their cuvées and the Le Black will become Le Black Creation, followed by a cuvée number, highlighting their long and illustrious history.  In order to make room for the new label, the old label must go!  If the subsequent releases are anything like the Lanson Brut featured here, we’re in for many years of excellent Lanson Champagnes.   Cheers, Frank Rothstein, PRIMA’s Master of All Things Bubbly