Champagne Lanson returned to TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes this month, launching two vintage Champagnes into travel retail.
Le Vintage 2012, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, is characterised by an aromatic intensity and complexity. It offers notes of candied fruit, dried apricots and almond punctuated by aromas of acacia honey and sweet spices.
Champagne Lanson Head of Travel Retail Edouard De Boissieu said: “We are thrilled to have launched this exceptional Vintage 2012 to Cannes and look forward to hearing the retailers’ response.”
Maison Lanson also introduced its Prestige Cuvée Noble Champagne 2004 Blanc de Blancs. Available to selected travel retail partners it is one of the oldest vintages currently on the market.
Bottled in limited quantities, the champagne is vinified according to the original Champagne method without malolactic fermentation. This process is done in order to “create great vintages that travel gracefully through the years”, De Boissieu added. Noble Champagne offers a distinctive gourmand nose, with intense flavours.
Turning his attention to sales, De Boissieu said: “[The fact] That our business has not only recovered from the set-back of COVID-19 but is now ahead of 2019 is a real achievement. We are still in extremely challenging times and the rising cost of living may have an impact. However, at the moment, it seems that Champagne is still very much in favour with travelling customers and long may that last.”
De Boissieu pointed to a surging demand with 2022 looking likely to be a record year. “In travel retail, the demand has been unexpectedly high too, especially since May of this year with very high sales during the summer period. We are hearing from many of our retail partners that Champagne is accounting for an ever-increasing percentage of liquor sales.”
He added: “As travel restrictions continue to ease, we expect to see similar rapid recovery for Champagne sales in Global Travel Retail, where the category is currently over- performing within the wines & spirits sector, as consumers want to celebrate after the difficult years. In this context of unexpected high demand, Champagne houses need to pay special attention to the product stock in order to deliver their products to all clients.”
Travel retail remains an important channel for Champagne Lanson, he added. “We will continue to support the channel with brand activations, which we believe are key for raising the profile of Lanson and introducing travellers to our various Cuvées,” De Boissieu said.
“We are particularly keen to continue our ‘bistronomie’ experience, which promotes the art of pairing Champagne with food. This has worked extremely well for us and we believe has much potential to develop in the coming year.”
