
Jules
Lassalle established this family-owned Champagne house in 1942 in the village
of Chigny-Les-Roses on the Montagne de Reims. A master of his craft, he
established a signature style of elegant, tightly knit wines with a certain ampleur. When he passed away in 1982 his
wife, Olga, and their daughter, Chantal Decelle-Lassalle, stepped in and took
over the estate, upholding Jules’ high standards and progressively pushing the
domaine to the next level. In 2006 Chantal’s daughter, Angéline Templier,
joined the estate as winemaker. Their twenty-eight-year tradition of “une femme, un esprit, un style” (one
woman, one spirit, one style) holds true today more than ever. In the 1970s,
Kermit was the first to begin importing artisanal, grower Champagne, and the
Lassalles have been in the KLWM portfolio longer than anyone. Today, we are
proud that the relationship has continued into the third generation of the
Lassalle family.
Champagne J. Lassalle
works with all three varietals authorized in the region (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir,
and Pinot Meunier) on eleven hectares of vineyards, all of them premier cru. These tough, hardworking
women continue to follow the vinification methods established by Jules
in the forties: they use the same wooden basket press he installed in the winery
over fifty years ago, pressing and vinifying the individual plots separately.
It is one of the rare Champagnes that has been allowed to finish its malolactic
fermentation, just like the great whites from the Côte d’Or. Every bottle is
riddled by hand, and all cuvées are aged extensively once in bottle. This results in an astonishing
complexity and depth from the beginning of their range up to the luxury cuvées.
Don’t miss their Blanc de Blancs,
sourced uniquely from premier cru Chardonnay
grown on the Montagne de Reims. It is a classic vin de terroir that ages beautifully.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
| Wine |
Blend |
Vine Age |
Soil Type |
Vineyard Area* |
Brut Rosé 1er Cru
|
Approximately 70% Pinot Noir (of which 6% is still wine blended for color), 15% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
Brut Réserve “Cachet Or” 1er Cru
|
Approximately 1/3 Pinot Meunier, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Noir |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
Brut "Cuvée Préférence" 1er Cru
|
Approximately 60% Pinot Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
Brut "Cuvée Angéline" 1er Cru
|
60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
Brut Millésimé 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs |
100% Chardonnay |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
Brut "Spéciale Club, Millésimé" 1er Cru
|
60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir |
N/A |
Clay, Limestone |
10.1 ha total |
"ha"=hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Grapes are crushed
on a traditional, wooden press, parcel by parcel
• The must rests for
12-24 hours to allow the juice to settle
• The alcoholic
fermentation lasts from 8-10 days
• Wines go through
malolactic fermentation to soften their acidity
• The blend of grapes
changes every year for every wine, with consideration given to the
conditions presented by the vintage, the terroir, and the house style
• The non-vintage
wines are a blend of all three grape varietals permitted in Champagne:
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, but the exact breakdown of each
is a house secret
• Secondary
fermentation takes place in bottle for 6-8 weeks
• Bottles are riddled
in pupîtres and are adjusted a
quarter turn at a time for 6 weeks
• Bottles are
disgorged manually
• Rosé is made in the traditional style, oeil de perdrix (eye of the
partridge), a very pale, delicate style found among the most elegant of
Champagnes
• “Préférence” is
aged for one year longer than the “Cachet Or” before release
Brut Réserve “Cachet Or” 1er Cru
• Aged 36 months on the lees before disgorgement
• Vintages in the current disgorgement: 2008 and 2009 (as of 12/3/2012)
• Dosage: 8g/liter
Brut “Cuvée Préférence” 1er Cru
• Aged 48 months on the lees before disgorgement
• Vintages in the current disgorgement: 2007 and 2008 (as of 12/3/2012)
• Aged for a minimum of 4 months after blending in enamel lined tanks before bottling
• Dosage: 8g/liter
Brut “Cuvée Angéline” 1er Cru
• Maximum production is 6,000 bottles per vintage
• Only made in great years
• Recent Angeline vintages that were produced include: 2007, 2005, 2002, 2000
• Dosage: 8g/liter