Green Label: an organic Champagne from Lanson

Lanson was the first important Maison to underscore their commitment to organic and sustainable winegrowing with an organic Champagne: Green Label

Founded in 1760 by François Delamotte, Lanson is the third-oldest Champagne Maison and evidence of its glorious past can still be found on its label today which has a Maltese Cross on it, a symbol chosen by the founder’s son Nicolas-Louis Delamotte who was a Knight of Malta. It was he who began to collaborate with Baptiste Lanson in 1828 and in 1837 the enterprise was renamed “Lanson Père e Fils”. But it was with the arrival at the helm of Victor Lanson in 1928 that the identity and success of Maison Lanson was consolidated. And it was Victor who had the bold idea in 1937 of giving an English name to their non-vintage cuvée: Black Label.

From the beginning, Maison Lanson has based its production on Pinot Noir, which dominates each blend as if it was their distinct trademark. Their wines also do not undergo malolactic fermentation to ensure their freshness and preserve the primary aromas of the grapes, as well as support the Champagne’s evolution.

For over 40 years the Lanson style has been perpetuated by the savoir-faire of Jean-Paul Gandon, their Chef de Caves since 1986, which has permitted the brand to overcome the enormous difficulties caused by changes in ownership at the end of the millennium as well as ensure continuity following the important move in 2006 when it became part of the Boizel Chanoine Champagne (CC) group. Today his heir is the talented Hervé Dantan who had 22 years of experience at Champagne Mailly (a top-quality cooperative that makes wine from the Grand Cru Pinot Noir from that village) before joining the Maison in 2013 and becoming Lanson’s Chef de Caves in 2015.

And it is Hervé Dantan who is responsible for the creation of Lanson’s new wine, Green Label, made with organic grapes cultivated exclusively in the vineyards of the Malmaison estate in Verneuil, in the heart of the Marne Valley. For many years now, the Maison has had as it goal the conversion of the 125 hectares of vineyards it owns, half of which are in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages, to sustainable farming methods. For Lanson, in fact, organic and biodynamic agriculture are the key to preserving their most precious asset, their vineyards, and protecting the ecosystem by respecting the balance between the soil, the plant and man.

Today Lanson has 13 hectares of organic vineyards, which in a few years will become 15, and it is the only important Maison to make an organic cuvée that is the most authentic expression of the terroir the grapes are grown in. And not only does the cultivation have to be as organic as possible, but the Champagne must make clear to consumers the Maison’s mission to protect the environment. For this reason Lanson has decided to make their bottles lighter and use recycled paper for the labels and, last but not least, in line with the inspiration of its founder, it has dedicated this cuvée to Nature and named it “Green Label”.

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