Champagne Canard-Duchêne cuvées
Léonie Iconic
The house's signature cuvée, a tribute to its co-founder. Crafted in a harmonious, well-balanced style, the cuvée Léonie Iconic favors freshness, with a precise blend of at least 40% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims region, complemented by a perpetual reserve initiated in 2012.
Iconic Collection
Following on from its revival at the end of 2024, embodied in particular by the Léonie Iconic cuvée, Canard-Duchêne has unveiled its Iconic collection, formerly known as Charles VII. It includes three other cuvées: the Blanc de Noirs Iconic Blanc de Noirs Rosé Iconic and the Blanc de Blancs Iconic each bottled in a distinctive broad-shouldered bottle.
In 2025, Blanc de Noirs Iconic won several international gold medals, including at the Champagne Masters Drinks Business and the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, as well as a Coup de Cœur in the Gault & Millau Guide, an accolade that confirms the collection's move upmarket.
P181
La cuvée P181 is the house's most committed wine. Located in Verneuil in the Marne valley, parcel 181, covering 7 hectares, is certified organic. This Extra Brut Champagne combines freshness, complexity and structure. A hymn to nature. Cuvée V Named in homage to Victor Canard, co-founder of the house, Cuvée V embodies the full expression of Canard-Duchêne savoir-faire through exceptional vintages, the prestige cuvée from a house that never ceases to surprise.
Discover Canard-Duchêne champagne
Some houses are born of strategy, others of conviction. Canard-Duchêne was born of an encounter. In 1868, in Ludes, a cooper and a winemaker combined their names and skills to get the best out of a terroir that others were still unaware of: the Montagne de Reims, its diversified soils, its fleshy, generous Pinot Noir. More than a century and a half later, the house's compass remains unchanged: champagnes of terroir, anchored in their village of origin, far from the champagne capitals and their established codes.
The history of Canard-Duchêne
It was Edmond, son of the founders, who gave the house its first international dimension. Alone at the helm after the untimely death of his brother Alfred, he soon realized that the future of champagne lay beyond France's borders. His marketing strategy quickly bore fruit: Canard-Duchêne made a name for itself at the table of Tsar Nicholas II, joining the very select circle of suppliers to the Imperial Court of Russia. This distinction earned the company the right to display the crowned double-headed eagle of the Romanovs on its labels - a symbol of prestige that the company still displays today. From the 1930s onwards, Victor Canard, grandson of the founders, took over and extended the brand's visibility through sports sponsorship, presiding over the fortunes of the Stade de Reims in its heyday, and partnering the Grenoble Olympic Games in 1968. The house then passed successively into the orbit of Veuve Clicquot and then LVMH, before being taken over in 2003 by the Thiénot group, which gave it a coherent trajectory while preserving its identity. Since January 2025, Cynthia Fossier has been at the helm of the winery, the new guardian of a style in full renaissance.
Terroir and style of Canard-Duchêne champagne
The Ludes site is a concentrate of the UNESCO label: a house on a hillside with cellars. These 6 kilometers of hand-dug cellars, acquired by Victor Canard between the wars, are a singularity on the northern slopes of the Montagne de Reims. The vineyard covers 25 hectares, supplemented by selected supplies from partner winegrowers in all the major Champagne regions. Specializing in Blanc de Noirs Canard-Duchêne owes the uniqueness of its cuvées to the Pinot Noir grape, which has become its trademark and its oenological heritage. Behind each cuvée is a whole network of partner winegrowers, following in the footsteps of Victor and Léonie on these same hillsides. The company is also committed to a concrete environmental approach: cuvée P181 Bio was the first organic champagne marketed by a major Champagne house, back in 2009, a pioneering decision that foreshadowed the ecological commitment of the entire industry.
Did you know?
Yannick Bestaven celebrated his Vendée Globe victory by opening a bottle of Canard-Duchêne after crossing the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne, after 80 days, 3 hours, 44 minutes and 46 seconds of solo, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world racing. The company was also official supplier to the 50th César awards ceremony, presided over by Catherine Deneuve.