Champagne J. Lassalle

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 sixteen 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, and all cuvées are aged extensively once in bottle—even the non-vintage cuvées, which are a minimum of five years old. 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, 15% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut Réserve “Cachet Or” 1er Cru	Approximately 1/3 Pinot Meunier, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Noir	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut “Cuvée Préférence” 1er Cru	Approximately 60% Pinot Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut “Cuvée Angéline” 1er Cru	60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut Rosé “Cuvée Angéline” 1er Cru	60% Pinot Noir 40% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, limestone	16ha total
Brut Blanc de Blancs Millésimé 1er Cru	100% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut “Spéciale Club Millésimé” 1er Cru	60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut 1er Cru Rosé “Cuvée Spéciale”	37% Pinot Meunier, 37% Pinot Noir, 26% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut Millésimé 1er Cru “Cuvée Spéciale”	50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut 1er Cru “Réminiscence”	40% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Brut 1er Cru Rosé “Spécial Club Millésimé”	60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir	50 years average	Clay, Limestone	16 ha total
Coteaux Champenois Rouge	Pinot Noir	Planted in 1970	Limestone	16 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
• 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
• 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
• Disgorgement dates are engraved on each bottle

Brut Réserve “Cachet Or” 1er Cru
• Aged 3 years on lees before disgorgement
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Vintages in the current disgorgement: 2018, 2017
• Dosage: 9g/L

Brut “Cuvée Préférence” 1er Cru
• Aged 48 months on the lees before disgorgement
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Vintages in the current disgorgement: 2018, 2017
• Aged for a minimum of 4 months after blending in enamel lined tanks before bottling
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut Rosé 1er Cru
• Aged minimum 42 months on the lees before disgorgement
• Completes malolactic fermentation
• Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, and all but 6% of Pinot Noir is direct press
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Vintages in the current disgorgement 2018, 2017
• Dosage: 9g/L

Brut “Cuvée Angéline” 1er Cru
• Aged minimum 7 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Maximum production is 6,000 bottles per vintage
• Only made in great years
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut Rosé “Cuvée Angéline” 1er Cru
• Aged minimum 7 years on the lees before disgorgement
• A portion of the wine is raised in aged demi-muids
• Only made in great years
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 7g/L
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru
• Aged minimum 9 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Only made in great years
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut “Spécial Club” 1er Cru
• Aged 10-11 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Only made in great years
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut 1er Cru Rosé Cuvée Spéciale
• Aged minimum 6 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Current bottling is primarily based on 2006 vintage
• Base wine at least 5 years old
• Made exclusively for the American market
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut Millésimé 1er Cru “Cuvée Spéciale”
• Aged minimum 7 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Made exclusively for the American market
• Current vintage is 2005
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Brut 1er Cru “Réminiscence”
• Aged 24 years on the lees before disgorgement
• Vintages in the current disgorgement: 1994 and 1995
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 9g/liter

Brut 1er Cru Rosé “Spécial Club Millésimé”
• Made by direct press
• Completes malolactic fermentation
• Aged 6 years on the lees
• Current vintage is 2012
• Current disgorgement: Stamped on bottle
• Dosage: 8g/L

Coteaux Champenois Rouge
• Old vine Pinot Noir from the village of Chigny
• Fermented and aged 9 months in stainless steel