Appellation Australia

While not exactly fitting the theme of this site, I wanted to post some impressions on wines tried when I recently attended a Lanson Champagne dinner put on by a local retailer and the Lanson sales representatives for Australia.

Flight one wines were from 750ml bottles. All wines from flight two onwards were poured from 1500ml bottles that were disgorged late last year.

Flight 1:

Rose NV: Very pale salmon colour. Nose is a little bit shy, some strawberries, earthy notes and a hint of musk. Good enough but lacked excitement. 85/100

Black Label NV: Light straw-yellow. Very fresh, apples dominating the nose with a bit of citrus and a mere touch of yeast in the background. A creamy palate with some hazelnut influences. Easy to drink and good value for money. 86/100

Flight 2:

Gold Label Brut 1976: Light golden colour belies its age. Full nose of burnt toffee and caramel. A little bit of sharpness on the mid-palate. Quite powerful palate and good length. Possibly a bit past the stage where I would personally prefer to be drinking it. Still it was interesting and one of the more distinctive wines of the evening. 86/100

Gold Label Brut 1979: Much better than the ’76. Lighter on the nose, but surprisingly fresh and crisp. Tight, focused palate, good complexity. Very nice. 89/100

Gold Label Brut 1981: A little bit dirty on the nose and palate initially which produced a scent reminiscent of potatoes. This blew off with time and ended up being quite pleasant. Still showing good acid structure but perhaps a touch short on the finish. Broader on the palate than the 1979. 87/100

Flight 3:

Gold Label Brut 1982: Showing its age a bit with some toasty notes on the nose. A little flat and broad on the palate. 87/100

Gold Label Brut 1983: Mute nose, perhaps a touch of pear but not giving much away. Palate was flat and short. Very boring – lacks complexity and interest. I’ve had a better bottle of this! 84/100

Gold Label Brut 1985: Spices and clove on the nose. Restrained power. Still fresh. Excellent length and balance. 90/100

Flight 4:

Gold Label Brut 1988: Powerful nose. Very good mouthfeel. A long life ahead with excellent structure. 90/100

Gold Label Brut 1990: Weakest wine of this flight. A powerful nose of grilled nuts and with a disjointed palate with overt acid sticking out. 86/100

Gold Label Brut 1996: Shows its youth by being a very pale lemon in colour. Grapefruit, fresh apples and citrus on the nose. Good, balanced acid structure. Will age well. 89/100

Flight 5:

Noble Cuvee 1989: Quite light on the nose and palate. Very fine bead. A bit of nuttiness on the palate, but not a great deal of complexity. Good but not great. 87/100

Noble Cuvee 1997: Very good. Fresh, fruity, floral nose. Very approachable. Fine and focused. Tempted to get a bottle and give it some time to build complexity. 91/100

Summary: My preferred wines from each flight were the Black Label, the 1979, 1985 and 1996 Gold Label and the 1997 Noble Cuvee.

A point of difference between Lanson and the majority of other Champagne houses is that they do not put their wine through maloactic fermentation – which gives them rather distinctive apple and pear fruit purity and freshness.

These wines seem to be quite good value for money, with the NV Black Label around $45AU, the Rose around $55AU and the current release Gold Label around $65AU.