Community Tasting Note

Mossrose wrote:

Friday, May 26, 2017 - Put this wine into an "ultimate" tasting of old vintage Champagne with 9 other wines from 1988 through 1996, that included Dom Perignon, Salon, Krug Vintage, Krug Mesnil, Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame, and Perrier Jouet Belle Epoche, which ranged in price from $195 to $995. At the $62 average price paid by people in Cellar Tracker for the Lanson, it was by far the least expensive wine. To mask and counter the bias of favoring the more expensive wines, the Lanson was put in a blind flight that included the 1992 Krug Mesnil, 1996 Salon Blanc de Blanc, and the 1996 Krug Vintage Brut. Since the wines were all poured in separate glasses, we had the opportunity to compare them all side by side. The ovall group favorites were the 1990 and 1996 Krug Vintage. But how did the Lanson do against this formidable, overwhelming, and intimidating competition? First of all, it was not blown off the table. Instead, it had one the best releases of bubbles in the mouth when sipped, powerful and penetrating acidity, grand richness, and a caressing and creamy texture. Second, what proved to be the Lanson got some votes for being the best and second best wine in the blind tasting. My favorite of the night came from the blind flight, and I thought it was the 1996 Krug Vintage, but it turned out to be the Lanson I contributed. Overall, the lesson to take home is that the Vintage Gold Label Lanson is not only a comparative bargain, but can be competitive in quality among the top tier of great Champagnes.

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