Champagne Bernard Lonclas

Champagne Lonclas: exceptional Blanc de Blancs in Bassuet, the Champagne soul since 1976

Some stories begin before we can even remember them. Bernard Lonclas's begins with a pop, then the fizz of bubbles against crystal, and laughter: his birth, celebrated with champagne, in a family home. The green of the vine stocks, the bluish purple of the black grapes, the silvery sheen of the Chardonnays, his first colours, his first certainties.

"More than a job, it is a vocation, even a calling."

Since 1976, Bernard Lonclas has grown, vinified and passed on this passion in Bassuet, a typical village of the Coteaux Vitryats, in this corner of Champagne where chalky soils bring Chardonnay to its finest expression. Today, his daughters Aurélie and Mathilde follow in his footsteps, carrying on with commitment and precision the spirit of a house that has never sought to resemble any other.

An ideal terroir for Chardonnay

Bassuet is not a village like any other in Champagne. Its slopes offer a soil particularly suited to Chardonnay, the house's king grape, which makes up 85% of the vineyard. Pinot Meunier (10%) and Pinot Noir (5%) complete the blend discreetly, bringing structure and roundness without ever taking over.

It is this predominance of Chardonnay that explains the house's reputation: Blanc de Blancs of remarkable finesse and aromatic richness, among the most distinctive signatures of family Champagne.

The vine, worked with a craftsman's precision

At Lonclas, quality begins well before the cellar: it is built gesture after gesture throughout the year. Chablis pruning, done in winter and never in frost, regulates the vigour of each vine by carefully selecting the buds that will carry the crop, a noble, demanding pruning that directly shapes the quality of the coming vintage.

Tying (February to April) orients the framework for optimal penetration of sun and air; lifting (May to June) guides the growth towards the light; trellising (June) refines the bunches' sun exposure; finally topping and trimming (July to August) controls summer growth over four passes, the last sometimes by hand to perfect airflow before the harvest.

The harvest: 60 pickers, ten intense days

In Champagne, the harvest must be done by hand. Maison Lonclas calls on more than 60 seasonal pickers for 9 to 10 days, generally in the second half of September, about 90 days after flowering. Each bunch goes straight to the press in small crates of 50 kilos maximum, preserving the integrity of the juice even before pressing.

From pressing to blending: the art of losing nothing

All the vines lie within 10 kilometres of the press, a deliberate proximity to limit juice loss and preserve the grapes' aromatic freshness. Pressing is carried out on C.I.V.C.-approved presses: from each 4,000-kilo load, 2,550 litres of must are extracted, the first 2,050 litres form the cuvée, the remaining 500 the taille.

A few months after the harvest comes the blending, a solemn moment that Bernard Lonclas experiences as a ceremony: several successive tastings, discussions, shared sensations. It is from this collective work that the subtlety defining the Lonclas style is born, consistent in quality, unique in expression.

From the cellar to your table: patience and precision

After bottling, the bottles rest in the cellar on laths, in darkness and coolness. Manual riddling on traditional pupitres lasts at least four weeks: each bottle is turned and tilted daily to slide the deposit towards the neck, a gesture repeated thousands of times, with a watchmaker's rigour.

Disgorging then removes this deposit by freezing the neck; the bottle is dosed with the expedition liqueur to obtain Brut, Extra Brut or Demi-Sec. Then come labelling and corking: the bottle is ready, waiting for just one thing, your table.

The Lonclas range: a single standard

From the Brut La Cuvée to the three 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs, every cuvée carries the same signature: finesse, minerality and freshness.

Why choose Champagne Bernard Lonclas

A Blanc de Blancs specialist. 85% Chardonnay on the chalky soils of Bassuet, for cuvées of great finesse.

An artisanal know-how. Chablis pruning, hand harvest, riddling on pupitres and in-house disgorgement.

A family house since 1976. Bernard Lonclas and his daughters Aurélie and Mathilde, a passed-on, consistent style.

Seven cuvées, one standard. Brut, Rosé, Prestige, Millésimé and three Blanc de Blancs, from everyday to grand occasions.

Direct from the grower. From the Coteaux Vitryats to your table, your champagnes travel the shortest route, carefully shipped across France and Europe.

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