Average rating 4.9/5 stars across all Google and external reviews
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Bought directly from Lanson through their UK agent Lanson International UK, the bottles are stored in bond at London City Bond Eton Park, in ideal conditions at a constant 13°C. For same-day deliveries, small quantities are kept in our office cellar, where the temperature is maintained between 11–13°C. We source all our bottles directly from the Maison or their official UK office, eliminating the risk of poor storage. This is crucial, as champagne quality is highly sensitive to heat: temperatures above 18°C accelerate maturity significantly, which compromises quality.
Founded in 1760, Champagne Lanson is one of the oldest producers in the region, with a rich history embedded in the famous city of Reims. The red cross in the logo comes from, Nicolas-Louis Delamotte who in 1798 took over from his father and as a knight of the Order of Malta, decided to use the Maltese Cross as the House's emblem. Developing steadily and winning numerous awards over the years, they gained real prominence in the 1900s, becoming official supplier to the British court. Lanson has changed ownership many times in the last 50 years, the most significant change in 1990 when it was bought by LVMH who re-sold a few months later in 1991, keeping 210 hectares of vineyards, at the time considered the best vineyard holdings of all the large Maison. In 2006 Lanson became part of what is now the Lanson BCC Group. Today Lanson sources grapes from over 500 hectares across 60 villages.
Lanson's golden years are only chosen to be declared in years that can truly be considered as exceptional. 1904, 1928, 1955, 1971, 1976, 1983 and 1990 were great vintages that have built the reputation of Champagne Lanson. Aged for at least five often ten years on its lees in the cellars and with no malolactic fermentation gives the blends a fruitiness and freshness. 2005 marks more than a century of great vintages since the first was produced in 1904.
The malolatic fermentation is often called the 2nd fermentation since it normally follows the main fermentation where sugars convert to alcohol. The ML fermentation usually happens naturally and is a conversion of malic acid, like you see in green apples, to lactic acid the softer acid you see in milk and the bi-product of this conversion is diacetyl, the same flavour element you see in butter. Hence the ML fermentation add a softness to the acids and some hints of butteryness. Most champagnes houses encourage some or all of the wine to complete the ML because otherwise the champagnes can be unapproachable at a young age. In this case the 1999 is now entering a good drinking phase since Lanson keep a parcel in their cellars for ten years post disgorgement ageing. A rare chance to taste a vintage champagne now just about ready to drink!
Weather: The 1999 season began with hailstorms in May which damaged many vines, though as the year went on warmer weather prevailed throughout July and August. The year developed promisingly with high expectations, until heavy rainfall in the second week of September contributed to the loss of many crops. Despite the rain the grapes had maturated well in the long summer and early concerns over dilution of flavour never became an issue.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: Chardonny: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger | Pinot Noir: Ay, Verzenay, Verzy, Bouzy
Grape Varieties: 49% Chardonnay, 51% Pinot Noir
Lees Ageing: 10 years
Disgorged: June 2009
Dosage: 9 g/l
Malolatic Fermenation: No ML
Drink: Now for 3-4 years
This parcel of Lanson Gold Label 1999 was bought direct from Lanson in June 2020 - it has been perfectly stored for the last ten years at 10-11 degrees celsius.
Tasting Note:The colour shows rich deep yellow gold and a healthy stream of bubbles. The aromatics are a mix of those younger fruits like apple and citrus with an hour after opening you see some smoky charm, dried lemon, bitter orange and that creamy character. Considering this is ten years post disgorgement this bottle was tight for an hour after opening at which point it really opened up and the richness of the fruit and bottled aged characteristics really shined. The palate has a good balance of fruit character the silky texture from lees ageing really offsets its bright acidity and it finishes with a lovely twist of salinity. Nick's tasting note June 2020
Founded in 1760, Champagne Lanson is one of the oldest producers in the region, with a rich history embedded in the famous city of Reims. The red cross in the logo comes from, Nicolas-Louis Delamotte who in 1798 took over from his father and as a knight of the Order of Malta, decided to use the Maltese Cross as the House’s emblem. Developing steadily and winning numerous awards over the years, they gained real prominence in the 1900s, becoming official supplier to the British court. This strong relationship with Great Britain was further cemented in 1937, when owner at the time Victor Lanson named their non-vintage dry champagne Black Label, in honour of Lanson's biggest market. Champagne Lanson has also sponsored the The Championships, Wimbledon - one of the UK's oldest and most traditional sporting competitions - for over forty years.
Traditionally favouring a high-acidity style with blocked malolactic fermentation, Lanson has changed considerably under new Chef de Caves, Hervé Dantan. Universally blocking malolactic fermentation has been discarded to produce a softer and more complex style. More recently, in efforts directed towards image building, Lanson have begun displaying disgorgement dates on their bottles. Their cellars have also undergone an impressive makeover, affording this most historic of Champagne Houses an ultra-modern HQ.
Cellar Master: Hervé Dantan
Winery Location: Reims | Champagne, France
Champagne Region: Montagne de Reims
Annual Production (bottles): 5,000,000
Hervé Dantan - 2015 to current Herve joined Lanson in 2013 having spent 22 years as cellar master at Mailly Grand Cru cooperative. During the next two years he learnt the secrets about Lanson cuvee's from the outgoing chef de cave. During his time Herve has overseen many changes, the most significant was evolving their NV blend from a champagne with no wines going through the MLF, malo lactic fermentation, to creating a blend where some of the wines were put through the MLF. This gives a champagne easier to drink when younger and with a more generous fruit profile. He also continued to introduce Clos Lanson to its distributorship which was launching as he joined in 2013. This single clos, across the road from the Lanson winery, is a prestige cuvee Blanc de Blancs, showing a delicious yellow fruit profile and a touch of spice from barrel fermentation. In addition Herve created the Lanson Green Label champagne from all organically farmed grapes. Herve has more recently been involved in establishing a new Clos for Lanson, planted with Pinot Noir, champagne from their new Clos we will see in the late 2020's.
Jean-Paul Gandon - 1987 to 2015 Born in Touraine, studied viticulture and winemaking in Burgundy, joining Lanson in 1972, by 1982 he oversaw Lanson's vineyards and and took charge of the winemaking and cellars in January 1987. From the 2006 vintage Jean-Paul started bottling the single vineyard Blanc de Blancs from Clos Lanson, no malolactic and barrel fermented this was the new prestige champagne in the range, launched in 2013 as Jean-Paul began handing over to his successor Herve Danton. To celebrate Lanson's 250th anniversary in 2010 Jean-Paul was given the honour of creating Lanson Extra Age from nearly all Grand Cru fruit with five years lees ageing, a sensationally champagne to this day, though in 2020 the winery stopped making it. This quote speaks for itself:
"Throughout the Lanson saga, and its changes of ownership, this honest man has always remained faithful to the words of Victor Lanson “The House of Lanson makes wine in the style originally established in 1760”. To retain the Lanson style, the wines do not undergo the malolactic fermentation because, he explains, “malic acid is the ideal support for the aromas of fresh fruits”. The flavours of apple, pear and grape are one of the 3 components of the Black Label Brut of Champagne Lanson. The second distinction is their power, their body, their generosity, due to the majority of Pinot Noir in the composition of the blend. The third is their freshness and longevity, deriving from the absence of the malolactic fermentation.
To help appreciate the evolution of the wines, this demanding and perfectionist man puts the disgorgement date on all the Lanson Champagnes. The first age (under 3 years) is the period of fresh fruit and floral notes; the second age (between 3 and 5 years) that of maturity, showing flavours of ripe fruits and warm patisserie; in the third age, that of fullness, the wines develop tertiary aromas and toasted notes. With the mature cuvees, the dosage is low, (3g/l). Very precise, at all the stages of the vinification, Jean-Paul Gandon points out that, with the changes in climate, Champagnes have lost some of their vivacity and tightness and explains that, thirty years ago, the acid level of the wines was normally around 8-9 grams at harvest whereas in the past twenty years it has been more likely to have been between 7 and 8gr/l. 2013, this continental year with the harvest at the end of September brings us back perhaps to something more like those we have known in the past?"
Bernard Gasco - 1955 to January 1987 Bernard Gasco was born in December 1927 and died in a car accident in January 1987. He began his career at Lanson in 1949 after completing various internships. After starting as a joint wine maker with Monsieur Charlemagne he became Chef de Caves in 1955, respecting the style of the House while turning to ever more modernity and introducing stainless steel for both fermentations and reserve wine storage.
Ever wondered what makes a good vintage and which years were the best in Champagne? This is the Champagne Vintage Guide, their overall ratings according to Essi Avellan MW and the best releases of the Vintage year.
Lanson Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan is a huge fan of vintage 2018, telling us: "It was a dream, this harvest." We visited the house in Reims earlier this year to sample the vins clairs and conduct a vertical tasting of all the Clos Lanson vintages from 2006-2014.
The Lanson Vintage Collection - old magnums kept on the lees and late-disgorged to express newfound complexity - comprises champagnes more than a century old. Every year, a few magnums from 1976 and subsequent vintages are released to a limited circle of enthusiasts and connoisseurs.
Our vins clairs visit to Champagne ended at Lanson, with Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan. Here we tasted a comprehensive range of base wines, current champagne releases and some stunning magnums of Vintage Collection, from 1979-1990.
The first ever Noble Cuvée Blanc de Blancs and Brut vintages; Black Label NV blends based on the last vintage of the previous six decades; and a comparison of vintage and prestige cuvée. Our recent trip to Lanson had it all.
Big changes have occurred at Champagne Lanson since Chef de Caves, Hervé Dantan took the reins two years ago. We sampled the 2016 Vins Clairs, the latest Black Label NV blend and Clos Lanson 2016 as Hervé talked us through the new developments.
