Essi Avellan MW reports from the launch of Lanson Private Collection.
Lanson boasts one of Champagne’s greatest collections of old vintages, despite the corporate roller coaster that began when the Lanson family handed over the reins to the Gardinier Group in 1980. After decades of bouncing between owners, Lanson finally landed in 2006 with the Boizel‑Chanoine Champagne group (now Lanson-BCC). Call it fate, call it good business—either way, the house finally has a home that cherishes it.
When its majestic 210ha (520-acre) vineyard empire was stripped away as a casualty of the corporate chess game, the house was left vineyard-poor but cellar-rich. Under the smart leadership of president François Van Aal and cellar master Hervé Dantan, Lanson is breathing new life into its past. It is throwing open the gates to “Paradis Lanson,” its magical historic cellar in the deep chalky catacombs of the maison, reserved for the oldest and rarest vintages that date back as far as 1904.
Five years ago, Hervé Dantan embarked on a monumental restoration project, resurrecting Lanson’s liquid history. This painstaking task meant treating each bottle like a museum artifact. The bottles were examined, assessed, and given their own “identity sheets,” complete with notes on pressure, sweetness, and overall condition. For the delicate recorking process, Dantan sought guidance from experienced colleagues and the collective knowledge of the Comité Champagne, ensuring that every bottle was tasted, topped up, and recorked with precision.
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Longevity is innate to the Lanson house style, aided by the decision to forgo malolactic fermentation and preserve the wine’s natural malic acid. The Vintage Collection bottles have long been considered classics, but now Lanson is turning that prestige up several notches. In a move that marries tradition with tailored luxury, the house is offering collectors something truly rare: a private cellar within the Lanson cellars themselves. Imagine your own curated collection of mature, current, and even en primeur vintages aging peacefully in the cradle of Reims, under the same roof as bottles dating back to 1904. Collectors can enjoy their wines in the dedicated Private Collection lounge or have them delivered to them in bespoke packaging fit for bottles of this caliber. There’s even a buyback option, offering both emotional and financial liquidity.
The reckoning
To celebrate the launch of the Lanson Private Collection, the house gathered a select group of Champagne critics and influencers for an exclusive tasting of treasures from its historic cellars. Dantan curated a thrilling lineup—with one standout vintage from each decade—offering a rare opportunity to experience Lanson’s legacy in liquid form. The tasting unfolded alongside a meal inspired by the grandeur of days gone by, elevating the experience to something truly regal. Regardless of bottle size or disgorgement date, each wine radiated Lanson’s unmistakable DNA of boldness with elegance. Consistently crafted from an almost equal blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a slight edge given to the former, the wines reflect a classic expression of the region—structured Pinots from the Montagne de Reims, particularly the poised, linear styles of Verzenay and Mailly-Champagne, paired with mineral-rich grand cru Chardonnays from the Côte des Blancs. The specific villages may vary, but the signature is unmistakable: power and precision, seamlessly combined.
The most recent gem we tasted, the 2013, radiated the very essence of Lanson—vibrant, racy, and full of promise. But it was the 1964, from Champagne’s golden 1960s, that stole the show with its majestic poise, unfolding in the glass with sublime complexity and a harmony that seemed to defy time itself. Even so, the most moving moment of all came with the 1921—a wine more than a century old, still alive, still whispering stories from another era. As Dantan so perfectly put it, the Lanson Vintage Collection offers a celebration of “time, transmission, and excellence.”
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Tasting
Lanson Le Vintage 2013 (magnum)
As usual, Pinot Noir drives the blend with its 53% share. The pure nose comes with a cool, minty breeze over vanilla-laden orchard fruit and emerging brioche and toast deliciousness. The nose is opening up in the glass, yet on the palate the wine keeps tightly in focus with its strong acid line and compact fruitiness. The long, saline finish leaves the palate clean and refreshed, ready for more. | 93
Lanson Vintage Collection 2002 (magnum)
This slightly Pinot Noir-dominant (53%) blend, from a growing season in which sun and rain alternated, offers a rich and lush expression. Passion fruit and honey meet orange peel and marmalade, with lovely tertiary evolution emerging. This freshly disgorged magnum (2023) gives a sweet sensation on the round, even oily palate, despite the low (less than 4g/l) dosage. Lanson’s no-malo recipe accentuates the feeling of acidity, bringing vibrancy and freshness to the fleshy palate. A vintage in full bloom. | 95
Lanson Vintage Collection 1996
This vintage was served from a 75cl original-disgorgement (January 2007) bottle, thus it showed a more tertiary character. It comes from a high-acidity, high-ripeness year, and Lanson’s non-malo regimen further boosted the vintage’s whip-like, racy acidity. There is a lot of evolution to the nose, with forest floor and hints of mushroom adding earthy tones to the orange confit, dried apricot, and coffee nose. The acidity marries smoothly to the sweet fruitiness, the wine feeling laser-like and polished. This perfectly stored bottle shows little oxidation, but there’s a delicious vanilla-laden vinosity building on the palate. The back palate is all on acidity—mouthwatering and fresh. Due to the wine’s exemplary freshness, it is hard to believe we tasted it from bottle. | 95
Lanson Vintage Collection 1985
The 1985 is a remarkable vintage, with its hallmark concentration due to the April frost that reduced the crop size. This Lanson is no exception, showing lush fruitiness and rich yeasty tones. Sourced only from Verzenay, Cramant, and Oger, Pinot Noir’s dominance (53%) over Chardonnay expresses itself as spicy depth. The dried-fruit nose comes with roasted nuts and undergrowth tones. Yet this 75cl bottle charms with its impeccably well-built structure framed by the wine’s sturdy acidity and ripe-year phenolics. An original disgorgement from May 1995 showing impeccably youthful. | 95
Lanson Vintage Collection (magnum) 1971
This vintage was bottled in the curvy “quille” bottle. Tasted from a recent (February 2022) disgorgement, our two magnums displayed differences, one showing distinct red-pepper tones. Highly empyreumatic nose, with plentiful smoke, even rubbery tones. On the palate, it is lean and linear, with the wine’s brisk acidity taking center stage. A more delicate and lightweight expression of Lanson Vintage, with a faint dominance of Pinot Noir (51%) over Chardonnay. No longer improving. | 92
Lanson Vintage Collection (magnum) 1964
Here the power of Montagne de Reims Pinot Noir (57%) impresses from the first sniff. The intense nose shows exceptional complexity: cream and cookie dough with cardamom and honey are refreshed by a cool breeze of mint and green bell pepper. Powerful and expressive, the palate displays a wonderful harmony, with its creamy, caressing mousse. A beautifully complete wine, with extended length and lots of fruity power left. Our magnum was disgorged in March 2020 and had a dosage of 3g/l. | 97
Lanson Vintage Collection (magnum) 1952
The rarely encountered 1952 vintage commemorates a harvest under special conditions, with low yields (2,000kg/ha) picked under rainy conditions. The nose is very much on tertiary notes, with dried fruit, yeast, and savoriness prevailing. It comes with old-wine intensity but delicacy, too. The fruitiness has remained pure and bright, and a whisk of acidity adds on to the wine’s overall appeal of freshness. On the palate, it is still as fresh as a daisy, even if the nose shows rather more evolution. A remarkable original-disgorgement magnum nevertheless. | 96
Lanson Vintage Collection (magnum) 1942
From one of the war years, with 52% of Verzenay Pinot Noir blended with 48% of Avize Chardonnay. This original disgorgement from 1952 was mature, with significant variation between the bottles. Maderized, with dried apple, Calvados, and mocha tones. Fully vinous on the palate, with the gentlest bubbling left (0.7 bar). An emotional taste of Champagne history. | 92
Lanson Vintage Collection 1921
This mature beauty is a child of the aftermath of World War I, from a frost year with tiny yields but exceptional quality. We savored this gem from a 75cl bottle, since no magnums were made. This original 1931 disgorgement showed a browning color with some sediment. Strong nose, all on tertiary characters and high on umami notes: tar, dried citrus fruit, sake, and smoke. Silky on the palate, with an airiness despite there being barely any bubbles (0.35 bar pressure measured by Lanson). The finish is bittersweet, with some phenolics but also a mouth-coating sugariness (22g/l). | 96
