Reims rendezvous: A Champagne immersion at the House of Lanson

The Champagne Lanson press house in Verzenay was completed in 2021

Introduction: The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location in Reims last week to experience a holistic ‘immersion’ with Champagne Lanson and to discover more about the brand’s travel retail ambitions.

The experience comprised a Champagne masterclass at the Lanson Academy, a VIP tasting and a private tour of the House of Lanson.

The Champagne immersion was hosted by Champagne Lanson Head of Travel Retail and Duty Free Edouard de Boissieu, Trade Marketing Manager Global Travel Retail Albane Lussat and Lanson Academy Manager Laurine Banchet.

Founded in 1760, Champagne Lanson boasts a 260-year heritage, making it one of the oldest Champagne houses.

In 1900, the house received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria. It is the only Champagne house to have consistently maintained a Royal Warrant for over 120 years.

From Reims with love: Champagne Lanson is the sixth-oldest Champagne house in the historic city of Reims. It produces 3.5 to 4 million bottles annually.
The Lanson Academy immerses guests into the world of Lanson, teaching them all they need to know about Champagne from terroir to vinification

The experience began with a ‘Lanson Academy’ masterclass. The session, held in the brand’s striking new press house in Verzenay, shed light on the terroir, viniculture, grape harvest and vinification of Champagne.

During the masterclass, Assistant Winemaker Guillaume Duval offered an in-depth look into Champagne Lanson’s proactive sustainable approach. He discussed how the house is managing the challenges of cryptogamic factors and climate risks while maintaining its commitment to sustainability. Champagne Lanson has committed to a manual work-only approach in the vineyards, weekly viticulture observation, and encouraging vines’ natural defences.

Virtuous Viticulture

Lanson Organic Green Label Champagne is produced in the Domaine de la Malmaison, an organic vineyard in Verneuil

It has also committed to favouring biological treatments over insecticides in line with the Champagne region’s pledge to ban herbicides and insecticides by 2025. The region has also vowed that all Champagne producers will transition to 100% organic and biodynamic farming methods by 2030.

Reflecting these goals, Champagne Lanson has been accredited by two French environmental organisations in France, the High Environmental Value (HEV) and Demeter, which accredit farms with biodynamic viticulture.

Since 2018, Lanson has been integrating its grower partners into these programmes. Thanks to these efforts, 25% of the grapes harvested in 2020 received an environmentally conscious label. In 2021 that figure grew to 50%.

Champagne Lanson is committed to natural viniculture processes and minimal chemical intervention 
Le Clos Lanson in Reims

Champagne Lanson is ahead of the curve in terms of adopting more virtuous viticulture practices. Its Domaine de la Malmaison property, a 16-hectare vineyard in Verneuil, has been Demeter certified since 2013.

Defined as a ‘laboratory of experimentation’, the domaine serves as a sounding board for organic and biodynamic viticulture and green agriculture innovation. The organic grapes grown in this vineyard are exclusively used to produce the house’s Lanson Organic Green Label Champagne.

Le Clos Lanson, housed in its Reims headquarters, is a one-hectare plot of Chardonnay grapes that is managed following HEV principles.

The grapes here are exclusively used to produce the delicate, limited-bottling Clos Lanson Champagne. Clos Lanson is matured for 12 years to achieve its complexity.

Champagne Lanson in travel retail

Champagne Lanson Head of Travel Retail and Duty Free Edouard de Boissieu outlined the brand’s focus on the channel
De Boissieu and The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies 

Lanson also revealed its travel retail plans for this year.  The house recently launched its ‘Le Rosé Fruit Market’ activations with Lagardère Travel Retail and Gebr. Heinemann at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt airports respectively.

It also previewed plans to launch a Wimbledon-themed promotion with Dubai Duty Free and Lagardère Travel Retail ahead of the tennis major. Champagne Lanson is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its partnership with Wimbledon this year.

Travel retail is a key international channel for Champagne Lanson. The brand’s core Le Black Label Brut, Le Rosé and Le White Label Sec are multi-channel ranges and are available in both travel retail and domestic markets. The Le Black Réserve, Le Blanc de Blancs, Le Green Label Organic, Le Vintage & Le Collection Vintage and Le Clos Lanson expressions are only available in the on-premise and travel retail.

In travel retail, Champagne Lanson is currently available with Lagardère Travel Retail, Gebr. Heinemann, Dufry, Dubai Duty Free, Qatar Duty Free, Bahrain Duty Free, Beirut Duty Free and Aer Rianta International among others. In the inflight channel, it is available with British Airways, Lufthansa; Air India and Oman Air.

Champagne Lanson is celebrating 45 years of its Wimbledon partnership with a series of tennis-themed summer activations with Lagardère Travel Retail and Dubai Duty Free (pictured above)
(Left to right) The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies; DFNI Digital Editor Jill Sayles; TFWA Daily Publisher Ian Hill; Champagne Lanson Head of Travel Retail and Duty Free Edouard de Boissieu; Champagne Lanson Trade Marketing Manager Global Travel Retail Albane Lussat; and TRBusiness Managing Editor Luke Barras-Hill
Champagne Lanson Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan discussed the blends and tasting notes of five house champagnes 

De Boissieu commented, “Travel retail is very important for us because it is an international show window. Sometimes, we meet new buyers and they say that they discovered the brand through travel retail.”

De Boissieu also highlighted the house’s travel retail-exclusive products, which include a twin pack of Brut and Rosé which he says has performed positively with Dubai Duty Free and Lagardère Travel Retail. The smaller 20cl twin format is another top performer in the channel.

The Lanson immersion continued with a special VIP tasting with Champagne Lanson Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan.

(Left) A sunny day in Reims for a private tour of the House of Lanson; (Right) Le Rosé Fruit Market is an ongoing summer animation in European travel retail
The cellars are home to a winding maze of rare vintages with the Paradis Lanson (pictured right) housing the oldest and rarest treasures

Afterwards, the experience continued with a visit to the House of Lanson, the Le Clos Lanson, and a tour of the winery and the underground cellars. There is rich history here, not just in wine terms. The cellars were used as a refuge for locals during WW1 when 80% of the city was destroyed.

Today, a special cellar called ‘Paradis Lanson’ holds the house’s rarest vintages; the oldest of which dates back to 1904. The rarest commercial vintage is a blend from 1976, currently available within the super prestige wines section of Buy Paris Duty Free.

All roads lead to Reims: The House of Lanson boasts a 260-year heritage
(Left to right) Champagne Lanson President François Van Aal; The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor & Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Tan-Gillies and Head of Travel Retail and Duty Free Edouard de Boissieu

To conclude the Lanson Academy experience, media participated in an exam to test their Champagne knowledge.

The Moodie Davitt Report’s own Hannah Tan-Gillies took the honours, winning a bottle of Champagne Lanson Le Black Réserve Magnum gifted by Champagne Lanson President François Van Aal.

Concluding the visit with a message about what sets Lanson apart from other Champagne houses, de Boissieu said: “Kindness is in our roots and this is reflected by our new signature campaign ‘Lanson, It’s All About Love’.

“This campaign is a double proof of love. Love of  a job well done, which is part of our DNA, and about caring for the quality of our products. The second part is a love for sharing it with others to make them happy.”

 

Champagne Lanson celebrates Wimbledon partnership

Champagne Lanson is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its Wimbledon partnership with two special gift boxes. The sets are available in the house’s Le Black Label Brut and Le Rosé expressions.

The latest tennis-themed packaging comes in pink for Le Rosé and in dark navy for Le Black Label Brut.

The gift boxes were launched to coincide with the highly-anticipated tennis tournament. They are being promoted with activations in both travel retail and on/off trade markets throughout the summer.

In the channel, Champagne Lanson has partnered with Lagardère Travel Retail to launch a Wimbledon-themed activation at London City Airport from June until the end of August. It has also teamed up with Dubai Duty Free to host the same activation at Dubai Airport in June and July.

“We have kicked off this year’s Wimbledon sponsorship programme with several activations both in travel retail locations and with our on and off trade retail partners,” commented de Boissieu.

“We are delighted and proud to be the historical champagne partner of Wimbledon for 45 years. This is a great opportunity to share our premium serves Le Black Label Brut and Le Rosé. Our exclusive new Wimbledon gift boxes really mark the occasion for tennis fans.

“The champagne sector continues to be very buoyant at the moment with Lanson over-performing within the category, so we are confident of some encouraging sales during this activation period,” added de Boissieu.

Champagne Lanson is the official champagne partner of the Wimbledon tournament and will be the exclusive champagne available within The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club during the tennis major.

2022 is a special year for Wimbledon, as it marks the 100-year anniversary of its Centre Court in its current location. To celebrate the milestone, Champagne Lanson is showcasing memorable moments and photographs from Centre Court at the tournament. The exhibit, located in the house’s private suite, will feature rare vintages from the Lanson cellar. Here, VIP guests can enjoy an exclusive preview of Le Vintage 2012, which will launch globally later in the year.

Described as a ‘Champagne Miracle’ by the house, the 2012 harvest produced some notable wines thanks to the optimum viniculture conditions throughout the season. The Le Vintage 2012 offers notes of candied fruits, dried apricots and fresh pastries.

Food & Beverage The Magazine eZine