Origin and History
Champagne J. Lassalle was founded in 1942 in Chigny-les-Roses in the Montagne de Reims. The winery is located in Champagne in France. After the death of Jules Lassalle in 1982, Olga Lassalle and her daughter Chantal took over the house. Three generations of women continued the style of Jules Lassalle.
Vineyards and Farming
The 60 vineyard plots of the estate are spread across several communes of the Montagne de Reims. The vineyard areas include Premier-Cru and Grand-Cru sites. The soil is described as clayey and chalky; chalk stands for the freshness and mineral characteristics of the wines. The vineyards are farmed according to the principles of integrated agriculture, incorporating biodiversity and ecosystems. The vines are about 30 to 55 years old, depending on the vineyard area.
The planting consists of 52 % Meunier, 22 % Pinot Noir and 26 % Chardonnay.
Harvest and Cellar Work
The grapes are harvested entirely by hand and selected at plot level. For pressing, the winery uses a traditional 4,000-kilogram press with low pressure and uses exclusively the cuvée fraction, described as the finest juice. Grape varieties and vintages are blended together; for non-vintage cuvées, wines from the current harvest and selected reserve wines from earlier harvests are brought together.
Bottled wines mature for around four years in the non-vintage wines and up to ten years in the vintage wines on the lees. Riddling is carried out by hand for about three weeks on riddling racks. After that, the wines are disgorged and finished with a dosage made from cane sugar and reserve wines.
Cuvées
The Préférence is a non-vintage Premier-Cru Brut made from plots in Chigny-les-Roses, Rilly-la-Montagne, Villers-Allerand and Ludes. Its typical blend consists of 60 % Meunier, 20 % Chardonnay and 20 % Pinot Noir. The Blanc de Blancs comes from plots in Chigny-les-Roses; on the official site, the example shown is indicated as vintage 2010.
