Champagne House Saved A Town in WWI, Now Helping Environment

Another blast sets a young girl’s nerves tingling. She whispers to her self, “It’s too much.” The walls vibrated constantly, triggering anxious thoughts about whether the building’s integrity could be maintained. Each hit also triggered her internal battle. Or was it better for her to accept the possibility of being buried alive underground? During World War I she was temporarily living underground. Champagne Lansons cellar, deep in the earth, with her family and neighbours in their beloved city, Reims, in France’s Champagne wine region. 

It is more common to concentrate on the Greatest Generation during WWII because it was a time in history that glorified the future. However, the Lost Generation is often forgotten. 

Champagne Lanson 1760

Lanson has been through good times and less good times, noted Franois van Aal, president of Champagne Lanson 1760, and the main facilities of Lanson, located in the center of town, only a 15-minute walk from the famous Reims Cathedral, found itself housing many of the townspeople of Reims during WWI. Other Champagne houses provided shelter within their cellars as well, but Lansons’ proximity to the Reims Cathedral, which was targeted during the attacks, made war that much more real for those who were living in their cellars.

Franois stated that the Lanson cellars provided basic needs like beds for sleeping and chairs for eating, but also madeshift schools and churches. Significant life events like weddings were held underground. Many of the descendants of those who lived in Lansons cellars survived are now grape growers, who have long relationships with Champagne house, selling their beloved family grapes each year. 

Herv Dantan (Champagne Lanson’s winemaker) says that he has a great relationship with growers and that Champagne winemakers are spending more time in the vineyards. Previously, they were seen as master blenders who blended small plots of wine and back-vintages into their NV Champagne. Blending is still a vital skill and Herv proudly states that their non-vintage Black Label Lanson Champagne is made up of a minimum of 50% of Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards as well as a significant amount of reserve wines (back vintages of wine preserved in stainless steel vats) such as what is blended into the current market release of the NV Lanson Black Label containing 35% of reserve wine that goes as far back as 2006. Lansons house style has always relied on high quality grapes. The 20 million Euros investment in their winery, cellaring and storage facilities over the past 15-years has made it possible to preserve and vinify smaller plots of grapes Herv considers to have unique qualities.

The Lanson style is not only created by selecting high-quality grapes from the Champagne region. It also requires a longer cellaring period before they are released and more acidity during the winemaking process. This creates freshness.

After all the wines have been blended, they are placed in bottles for the second fermentation. This creates the bubbles. Then each bottle is aged on its lees (residual yeast from fermentation). According to Champagne regulation, each non-vintage Champagne must age in its bottle for at least 15 months before it is released onto the market, but Lanson ages their Black Label in bottle for four years as Herv notes that giving each bottle of Champagne that significant amount of time will allow it to find an ideal balance. 

Lansons tenets has been a key factor in distinguishing themselves from other Champagnes by retaining a high level of vitality. This freshness is preserved by avoiding malolactic ferment (MLF), which is a process in which tart malic acids are converted to softer lactic acid. Only 20% to 25% of their Black Label wines have been subjected to the MLF process. However, the rest of their wines (e.g., vintage Champagnes or single vineyard bottlings) are not subject to MLF. Although Lanson has had an excellent reputation among those who know the great quality for their reasonable price compared to other Champagnes, Lanson is undoubtedly not on the same level of fame as some of the top Champagne houses on the international market. Some thought that heavier, creamier Champagne was not the best marketing choice. However, Lanson, who has a loyal customer base made the right decision to keep their style. Today, champagne’s vitality is much appreciated.

Despite Champagne growers claiming it was impossible in the past, Lanson has been able to put a greater emphasis on sustainability over the years. Herv explained that it is essential for the survival and environmental quality of the local community. He is also a son of Champagne grape growers and has a deep personal commitment to protecting his home for future generations. 

Lanson now has the Green Label, sourced from one vineyard in Champagne that is certified organic and biodynamic. Lanson has 125 acres from the over 1,000 acres in Champagne that go into their bottlings. They also have their own organic, biodynamic vineyards which are an inspiration to other grape growers. Herv believes that the Green Label single vineyard is a way for Lanson find the future of Champagne viticulture. Many of the grape growers who work with him are now certified sustainable through the HEV (High Environmental Value) program in France. 

To See What the Future Has in Store

As a college-aged woman considers her world, she walks past Lanson’s red brick house in Reims. This is where Lanson welcomes their first guests into their tasting room. The woman stops and takes a deep breath as she thinks about her great-great-grandmother, who was around the same age when she took shelter in the Lanson cellars during World War I. The woman had recently been given journals that contained drawings from her great-great-grandmother during and after that time; during two world wars, during the pandemic of 1918, during the Great Depression and during a rapidly changing world. At first, the drawings were hopeful and beautiful with only a few dark and disturbing images throughout, yet the last couple of journals became more disturbing with their imagery that hinted towards the constant despair that her great-great-grandmother was overwhelmed by desperation as she became part of the generation known as the Lost Generation – a generation that was disillusioned by all the death and carnage they witnessed as well as eventually feeling lost in a quickly evolving modern world. 

The young woman felt a deep connection with her great-great-grandmother through those drawings, and she felt as if she was part of another lost generation herself, living during a pandemic that put all future opportunities in limbo, and the uncertainly of a world with clean air and clean water for all weighed on her every night. Through time she wanted to know if her great-great-grandmother eventually became optimistic again she went through her parents basement and closets looking for other journals that would suggest a happy ending. The young woman’s mother insisted that she already had the journals with the darkest and most depressing drawings and that it was safe to assume that there was only despair. 

As the young woman wiped away the tears starting to stream down her face, she took comfort in the fact that her grandmother, let alone her great-great-grandmother, could never imagine a world where so much attention was given to the grape growers of Champagne to the point where the son of a grape grower would end up being the head winemaker, a.k.a. They would have a grandchild who could possibly consider becoming a winemaker. She opened the Lanson tasting area door to discover the Green Label, the Champagne she was most interested in trying. It gave her hope that her generation would not be forgotten, since they are aware of the values they seek to see in the rest of the world.  

NV Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne : 50% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay from over 100 Champagne vineyards. This beautiful Champagne has a lovely, strong minerality. The champagne’s aromas are dominated by lime blossom and spice. The elegantly expressive finish is rounded out with a toasted almond taste. 

NV Lanson Green Label Brut Champagne – 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, and 30% Pinot Meunier are all made from organic and biodynamic grapes. The wine ages on the lees for a minimum of four years. Beautiful nectarine and pear fruits with honeycomb notes and a beautiful floral finish. 

2009 Lanson Vintage Brut Champagne – 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay, made only from Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards. This warm vintage was full of delicious notes of candied orange peels and pastries, with a hint of chalky minerality.

2007 Lanson Clos Lanson Brut Champagne : 100% Chardonnay, made exclusively from biodynamic wines from the Clos Lanson parcel. The creamy texture was infused with peach pie and dried violets. It had intense drive and focus, fierce acidity, and a creamy texture.

NV Lanson Ros Brut Champagne: 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier from around 100 vineyards in Champagne made up of 50% Grand Cru and Premier Cru, and aged four years on the lees. Light pink color with fresh raspberry, strawberry and lemon flavors. This Champagne had a floral touch with more weight in the middle than other Champagnes but still retained plenty of bright acidity.