A.R. Lenoble

The champagne house of A.R. Lenoble has its home in Damery on the Marne, a few kilometres from Épernay. It was founded in 1920 by Armand-Raphaël Graser. He soon changed the original name, "Graser Champagne", to AR Lenoble: AR for his initials, Lenoble as a bow to the noble wines of Champagne. Today the house is run by the siblings Anne and Antoine Malassagne, great-grandchildren of the founder and the fourth generation of the family. Antoine Malassagne is the cellar master.

Three villages, 18 hectares

The house owns 10 hectares of Chardonnay in the grand cru village of Chouilly, 6 hectares of Pinot Noir in the premier cru village of Bisseuil and 2 hectares of Meunier in Damery in the Marne Valley. The earlier text mentioned only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Meunier from Damery is, however, also part of the foundation of the cuvées. The vineyards have been certified Haute Valeur Environnementale since 2012. The house avoids chemical fertilisers and herbicides and uses crop protection products only minimally.

Parcels and Mag reserve

The house became known for its work with individual parcels, much as in Burgundy. The label of the Blanc de Blancs says "Chouilly", and the vintage Blanc de Noirs is pure Pinot Noir from Bisseuil. According to Decanter, A.R. Lenoble keeps all its reserve wines in magnums under cork, in order to emphasise the minerality of Chouilly. This is where the "Mag" in the name of the Cuvée Intense comes from. The Intense "mag 18" is made up of 20% Chardonnay from Chouilly, 35% Pinot Noir from Bisseuil and 45% Pinot Meunier from Damery. It contains 40% reserve wines and has a dosage of 2 g/l.

“The vineyards have been certified Haute Valeur Environnementale since 2012.

Its counterpart is Les Aventures. This champagne is a pure Chardonnay from Chouilly Grand Cru. It comes from a half-hectare parcel called "Les Aventures". The 5th edition blends the vintages 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Schaumwein aus der Champagne, Champagner Servieren

Visiting and ownership

If you visit the house, you can taste in its tasting room. Whether and how tours are possible is best checked in advance on the house's website. Please note too: the Frère-Gallienne family has become majority shareholder through its holding company FG Bros. Antoine Malassagne remains a shareholder and is still involved in the running of the house. The statement that the house is entirely independent and family-owned no longer holds true in that form.