Lanson to add disgorgement dates to labels

Champagne Lanson has become the next big Champagne producer to put disgorgement dates on its back labels.

Lanson is following the lead of its stablemate, Champagne Bruno Paillard: it is the largest Champagne house to institute this measure.

Disgorgement dates will go on the back of Lanson’s UK-released bottles of Black, Rose and Ivory NV bottles.

Indicating the date of disgorgement – the removal of yeasts after secondary fermentation, prior to dosage – is part of the house’s long term strategy to educate consumers on Champagne’s taste, explaining why different bottlings of wines made at the same time can taste differently.

Tom Stevenson, author of the Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide, told decanter.com, ‘It’s about time. A disgorgement date helps knowledgeable consumers make an informed choice.

‘What Lanson is doing sets the bar for transparency among the major brands and you have to ask, if others do not follow, what have they got to hide?’

Bollinger pioneered disgorgement date labelling with its icon RD bottling. Charles Heidsieck, Jacquesson, Philipponnat, Jacques Selosse, Moutard, and Bruno Paillard all do the same in full or in part.

Written by David Furer

David Furer is a Californian wine writer, educator, consultant and speaker, who has worked for over 20 years in the wine trade. He has appeared in publications such as Decanter, Wine Business Monthly in the US and SommelierS Int’l in France. He formerly served on the Circle of Wine Writers’ executive committee and is a sommelier with accreditation from the Court of Master Sommeliers. In his book, Wine Places, he collaborates with photographer Charles O’Rear to capture some of the world’s vineyards, wineries and winemakers.