Champagne AR Lenoble

Champagne AR Lenoble was until last year managed by Anne and Antoine Malassagne, great great-grandchildren of Armand-Raphaël (‘AR’) Graser, who founded the house in 1920. It has now passed into the hands of the Frère-Gallienne group, but Antoine remains an active board member, and there are no major changes on the horizon in terms of winemaking.

A RM or “Grower Champagne” house, Lenoble’s holdings today amount to 18 hectares of vineyards, 10 of them in the Grand Cru village of Chouilly (Chardonnay), six in the Premier Cru village of Bisseuil (Pinot Noir) and two in the village of Damery (Pinot Meunier) in the Marne Valley. The vineyards have been certified Haute Valeur Environnementale since September 2012 in recognition of 20 years of sustainable practices, including zero use of chemical fertilisers, practically zero use of any herbicide, drastic limitations on phytosanitary inputs to fight powdery mildew and downy mildew, and a particular focus on biodiversity with the introduction of hedges, orchards, slopes, trees and walls in addition to 70,000 honey bees from which the estate makes a limited amount of honey each year.

AR Lenoble is one of the rare producers to continue to use exclusively Coquard presses during the harvest. All reserve wines are matured either in small 228L Burgundy barrique barrels or in 5000L foudres according to the principles of the ‘solera’ or ‘réserve perpétuelle’ system. Recently the family have begun ageing the wines in magnums only (for a minimum period of 3 years) before they are disgorged into their long term formats. Magnums are considered the perfect size, adding nuance and complexity. Dosage is kept to a strict minimum.