Canard-Duchêne

History

According to the house, Victor Canard, a cooper, and Léonie Duchêne, from a winegrowing family, married in 1859 and in 1868 joined their names to found Canard-Duchêne.¹ In 1891 their sons Edmond and Alfred took over; the house says they sold to the table of the tsars and received the right to show the arms of the Russian imperial family.¹ In 1929 the house acquired the Domaine de Ludes with 6 km of chalk cellars.¹ The house states that the two world wars largely destroyed the estate except the chalk cellars, which are still in use.¹

Later dates

The house gives a centenary cuvée in 1968, its first organic cuvée in 2009 (now called P181), and Cuvée V, named after Victor, for its 150th anniversary in 2018.¹

Ownership and vineyard

The Union des Maisons de Champagne lists the house in the Arvitis group with 25 ha of own vines.² Its address in Ludes is the same as that of Marie Stuart.^2,4 The UMC lists Brut, Demi-sec, Rosé, Vintage, the Charles VII range (brut, rosé, blanc de noirs, blanc de blancs), Léonie, Smooth rosé, P181 and Cuvée V.²