Who makes it
Champagne de Venoge is a Champagne house based at 33 Avenue de Champagne in Épernay and owned by the Lanson BCC group. It produces approximately 1,700,000 bottles annually. The house's cuvée range includes Cordon Bleu and Princes, with the former built around a majority of Pinot Noir and the latter defined by grape selection from the best crus.
Henri-Marc de Venoge, a Swiss emigrant from Canton of Vaud, created the house in 1837. In 1858, Champagne de Venoge created the Princes cuvée as a tribute to the Princes of Orange. The name entered the range as a cuvée and remains attached to the Princes wines.
Where it grows
Champagne de Venoge began in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ before operations moved to Épernay. The house therefore carries two Champagne addresses in its history, while the Princes range draws grapes from the best crus, the named growing areas used for Champagne sourcing. That selection gives the Princes wines their stated acid framework.
How it is made
The cellar
The owned vineyard estate covers 12 hectares. Isabelle Tellier serves as cellar master and oenologist. The house's documented cellar work includes extended ageing for its cuvées, with lees ageing and reserve wine ageing recorded for specific bottles.
What they make
Cordon Bleu is a Champagne cuvée with a majority of Pinot Noir, a grape that brings roundness and particular vinosity. Princes Blanc de Noirs is a Brut Champagne made entirely from Pinot Noir sourced from the Montagne de Reims. Cordon Bleu Extra Brut uses a three grape blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier and 25% Chardonnay, and spends 48 months on lees before disgorgement.
The range therefore moves between a Pinot Noir led house cuvée, a single grape Princes bottling and a three grape Extra Brut. The Princes family is built around meticulous selection from the best crus, while Cordon Bleu expresses the roundness and vinosity associated with Pinot Noir.