Christian Holthausen of the Champagne House AR Lenoble was in town (the greater Washington DC area) and I had the chance to participate in two of his events.
First, I attended a seated wine tasting at Chain Bridge Cellars, a leading wine store in McLean.
Second, I attended a book reading cum champagne tasting at in Arlington at One More Page Books & More with Ann Mah, local travel writer, and Christian Conley Holthausen of Champagne AR Lenoble. Ann and Christian discussed Ann's new novel The Lost Vintage, as well as the legacy and future of French winemaking, and Champagne AR Lenoble's pioneering efforts in the face of climate change.
We visited AR Lenable and Christian Conley Holthausen on a recent Champagne Tour by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours. See: Cellar Visit and Tasting at the Champagne House AR Lenoble in Epernay, with Christian Holthausen - Burgundy (and Champagne) 2016 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Christian Holthausen
A dual citizen of France and the United States, Christian Holthausen has been in charge of export sales and international communications at Champagne AR Lenoble since December 2014. Prior to joining Champagne AR Lenoble, Holthausen spent seven years as the International House Communications Director for Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck in Reims. He previously spent five years managing the wine portfolio of Rémy Cointreau USA in New York after starting his career at Champagne Veuve Clicquot in 1999.
Picture: Christian Schiller with Christian Holthausen, at the time International Communications Director for Charles Heidsick and Piper-Heidsick, in Brescia. See: Blogging, Wining and Dining at the European Wine Bloggers Conference (#EWBC) October 2011 in Brescia, Italy – A Tour D’ Horizont Outside of his role at Champagne AR Lenoble, Holthausen contributes articles about food, wine and travel to a variety of publications including Decanter, The Guardian, and The World of Fine Wine in the United Kingdom as well as Meininger’s Wine Business International in Germany. In 2017, he was shortlisted for Emerging Wine Writer of the Year at the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards.
Champagne AR Lenoble
We visited AR Lenable and Christian Conley Holthausen on a recent Champagne Tour by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours. See: Cellar Visit and Tasting at the Champagne House AR Lenoble in Epernay, with Christian Holthausen - Burgundy (and Champagne) 2016 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
AR Lenoble is one of the rare producers in Champagne that has been consistently family-owned and entirely independent since the very beginning. AR Lenoble was founded in 1920 by Armand Raphaël Graser who arrived in Champagne from his native Alsace in 1915 in the middle of the First World War. Not wanting to have a German-sounding last name at that particular moment in history, he christened his wines “Lenoble” as he believed the wines of Champagne to be the most noble wines in France; his initials “AR” preceded the “Lenoble” and a new bran was created.
Today his grandchildren brother and sister Antoine and Anne Malassagne are owners and manger of the estate. They took over in 1993 from their father and in just over twenty years, they have quietly yet confidently transformed AR Lenoble into one of the jewels of the Champagne region.
Vineyards
AR Lenoble owns a total of 18 hectares, which in Champagne makes for a small-medium sized house. AR Lenoble believes very strongly in privileging the characteristic expression of fruit from its own vineyards located in three prime locations in Champagne:
CHOUILLY, the northernmost Grand Cru village located on the celebrated Côte des Blancs (10 hectares are estate-owned by AR Lenoble) and home of some of the most magnificent Chardonnay in all of Champagne.
BISSEUIL, the Premier Cru village located between Mareuil-sur-Ay and Tours-sur-Marne (6 hectares are estate-owned by AR Lenoble) and home of rich and structured Pinot Noir.
DAMERY, the site of AR Lenoble since 1920, located to the immediate east of Cumières. The village is home to some elegant and expressive Pinot Meunier due to soils that are a combination of clay and limestone. AR Lenoble is fortunate enough to own 2.5 hectares.
Christian Holthausen: Ploughing is routinely practiced in our vineyards to make sure that our plants are able to obtain the maximum of nutrition from the soils. We let the grass grow in our vineyards in order to reduce yields on purpose. Our yields are significantly lower than the average yields in Champagne, year after year. We control the date we begin picking in each of our parcels to consistently obtain ideal ripeness.
AR Lenoble was the second House in Champagne to be awarded the “Haute Valeur Environnementale” certification in recognition of more than 20 years of environmentally-friendly procedures put in place on the estate: zero use of chemical fertilisers, practically zero use of weed killer, drastic limits on the use of phytosanitary inputs to control mildew and powdery mildew in the vineyar, and particular attention to biodiversity and enhancement of the vineyard with hedgerows, orchards, embankments, trees and low walls.
In the Cellar
A parcellaire approach which begins in the vineyard is followed by a vinification adapted to the harvest and to the parcel, meaning that our wines are ‘made to measure’ in every sense of the word. A combination of different vinification vessels are employed so that individual parcels are fermented accordingly in small Burgundy barrels of 225 litres, 5000-litre foudres, stainless steel tanks and/or enamel-lined tanks. All reserve wines are conserved in either small Burgundy barrels of 225 litres or 5000-litre foudres. Malolactic fermentation is done or not done according to parcel and year however it is never done for vinified or aged under wood. Evaluation of the different vinified parcels begins in December and lasts for a period of six months.
Once the blends and wines are decided, bottling takes place. Bottles are aged underneath the winery in the historic 18th century cellars. A constant temperature of 11°C and a humidity level of 85% ensure that the wines are aged in only the most pristine conditions. Long periods of ageing is mandated for all wines, never less than three years.
AR Lenoble was an early advocate of limiting dosage in order to let the terroir express itself purely and precisely. We don’t believe in low dosage as a “marketing trick”. For each wine it is a question of finding the right balance. We have taken a lot of time to determine the right dosage and have decided for most of our wines, dosage is never more than a maximum of 6g/l. AR Lenoble Brut Nature Dosage Zéro was first released more than 15 years ago and is considered to be one of the first world-class examples of this style of wine.
Total production is some 320.000 bottles per year, of which 50% is exported, and which are not released before at least three years of ageing in the cellars followed by three additional months of post-disgorgement ageing. For comparison, Roederer‘s output is 5.000.000 bottles.
Champagne AR Lenoble Tasting with Christian Holthausen at Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean,Virginia
Invitation
This tasting of seven different Champagnes from AR Lenoble will leaving you fizzing with excitement and bubbling over with joy. But we guarantee this class will sell out very, very, quickly once we start to promote it. Don’t miss this one, folks – click here to reserve your seats right now.
Who are AR Lenoble? Well, JancisRobinson.com calls AR Lenoble, “probably the most admired boutique family house right now” in all of Champagne. Grandchildren of founder Armand-Raphael Grasner, Antoine and Anne Malssagne bring an intense focus and dedication to making great Champagne from their Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly. They farm naturally, crop to ultra-low yields (some of the lowest in Champagne), cultivate biodiversity, and use only the “cuvee” – or first pressing – of their grapes with none of the taille (second pressing) used elsewhere.
And all this work makes for great wines. After tasting the releases we’ll be featuring, Wine Advocate gushed, “There are some gorgeous cuvées to discover this year from the brother-sister team of Antoine and Anne Malssagne at Domaine AR Lenoble in Damery, Marne Valley.”
Export Manager/GM/Make Up Any Title You Like for Him Christian Holthausen will be on hand to lead us through our tasting of seven astonishing AR Lenoble Champagnes.
You’ll love the wines, delight in Christian’s energetic, zesty, presentation, and end up a fan of this exciting, if still “under the radar” Champagne house. As always, we’ll have light snacks to enjoy with the wines and great discounted prices to help you enjoy them at home, too. To reserve your seats, click this link or call us at 703.356.6500 or simply stop by the store.
The Champagnes Christian Poured
Christian poured 7 champagnes from AR Lenoble at Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean, Virginia, with Doug House.
AR Lenoble Brut Intense Mag 14 NV
A wine developed in response to climate change and warmer growing seasons with a unique approach to building freshness and complexity
Sales Price: US$36.98
AR Lenoble Champagne Brut Nature Dosage Zero NV
A fascinating contrast to the Brut Intense; vivid and piercing.
Sales Price: US$37.98
AR Lenoble Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Mag 14 NV
Sales Price: US$44.98
AR Lenoble Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2008
A glorious pair of Chouilly Chardonnays; the 2008 earned 94 points from Wine Advocate!
Sales Price: US$65.98
AR Lenoble Brut Chouilly – Bisseuil Rose
The estate’s Pinot Noir wines, one rich and deep and the other an exciting and serious Wine Advocate 92 point refreshing pink.
Sales Price: US$45.98
AR Lenoble Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Noirs 2012
Sales Price: US$65.98
AR Lenoble Demi-Sec Cuvee Riche NV
A fleshy, bold and decidedly “Riche” Champagne to pair at table with bold flavors.
Sales Price: US$37.98
Book Talk and Champagne Tasting with Ann Mah and Christian Conley Holthausen in Arlington at One More Page Books & More
I attended a book reading cum champagne tasting in Arlington at One More Page Books & More with Ann Mah, local travel writer, and Christian Conley Holthausen of Champagne AR Lenoble.
Inviation
Join us for a book talk and champagne tasting featuring Ann Mah, local food and travel writer, and Christian Holthausen, Export Sales & International Communications Director at Champagne AR Lenoble! Ann and Christian will be discussing Ann's new novel THE LOST VINTAGE, as well as the legacy and future of French winemaking, and AR Lenoble's pioneering efforts in the face of climate change. A tasting of AR Lenoble's Champagne will also be offered, and we can't wait..
Ann Mah
Ann Mah is a food and travel writer based in Paris and Washington, DC. She is the author of the food memoir Mastering the Art of French Eating, and a novel, Kitchen Chinese. She regularly contributes to the New York Times’ Travel section and she has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue.com, BonAppetit.com, Washingtonian magazine, and other media outlets.
The Lost Vintage
Sweetbitter meets The Nightingale in this page-turning novel about a woman who returns to her family’s ancestral vineyard in Burgundy and unexpectedly uncovers a lost diary, an unknown relative, and a secret her family has been keeping since World War II.
To become one of only a few hundred certified wine experts in the world, Kate must pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine Examination. She’s failed twice before; her third attempt will be her last. Suddenly finding herself without a job and with the test a few months away, she travels to Burgundy, to spend the fall at the vineyard estate that has belonged to her family for generations. There she can bolster her shaky knowledge of Burgundian vintages and reconnect with her cousin Nico and his wife Heather, who now oversee the grapes’ day-to-day management. The one person Kate hopes to avoid is Jean-Luc, a neighbor vintner and her first love.
At the vineyard house, Kate is eager to help her cousins clean out the enormous basement that is filled with generations of discarded and forgotten belongings. Deep inside the cellar, behind a large armoire, she discovers a hidden room containing a cot, some Resistance pamphlets, and an enormous cache of valuable wine. Piqued by the secret space, Kate begins to dig into her family’s history—a search that takes her back to the dark days of the Second World War and introduces her to a relative she never knew existed, a great half-aunt who was teenager during the Nazi occupation.
As she learns more about her family, the line between Resistance and Collaboration blurs, driving Kate to find the answers to two crucial questions: Who, exactly, did her family aid during the difficult years of the war? And what happened to six valuable bottles of wine that seem to be missing from the cellar’s collection?
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