Champagne Lanson, Black Label
Brut NV, Reims, France, 12%

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so celebrate by drinking Champagne with someone special.

Lanson Black Label is a classic choice. Lanson is one of the largest and oldest Champagne houses. Founded in 1760, they’ve had a turbulent history - they lost their vineyards in the Nineties and there have been frequent changes of ownership, the latest in 2006.

Despite this, Black Label is always consistent. Like most Champagne it is a blend - of vintages, vineyards and grape varieties. Made from 50% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier and 35% Chardonnay, the grapes are sourced from a large number of growers in the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Bars.

A distinctive hallmark of the Lanson style is crisp fresh acidity. This is achieved by always preventing the malolactic fermentation (where sharper malic acid would otherwise be converted to softer lactic acid). This practice is unusual for such a large House.

The final wine is created from blending 50-60 still wines together, 15% of which is reserve wine held from previous vintages. Then the sparkle is created by a second fermentation in bottle. 3 years later, (far more than the 15 months legal minimum), the bottles are disgorged. This removes the spent yeast and the bottles are topped up, with 10g/l of sugar added for balance. After resting, the wine is ready to drink.

The result is a very pale fine wine, diamond bright and with a good lively mousse. The bracing high acidity wraps up subtle fruit - apples and pears with hints of lemon are undercut with gentle brioche flavours. This style goes for freshness, lift and persistence rather than big yeasty or toasty flavours.

I tried the current release at Lanson with Olivier de la Giraudiere, European Export director and Jean-Paul Gandon, Lansons winemaker for the last 34 years. They like to drink Black Label in the year after purchase. However, they do agree that all that fresh acidity endows the wine with the ability to age well, with extra richness, nuts and marzipan flavours developing over 5 years. That’s also well worth the wait, so do keep a bottle or two longer!

Black Label is widely available and good value at around £21.99 from Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Oddbins is £21.99 plus a 6 for 5 deal, while Majestic is £18.50 if you buy 3. It’s also frequently on discounted promotional offers. Also look out for it in bars and restaurants - often available by the glass.

A perfect aperitif, it’s also a brilliant match with Oysters should an additional aphrodisiac be necessary on Valentine’s Day!

For further information on wine selection and tasting take a look at our client Paul Howard’s website www.winealchemy.com, who also kindly supplied the above review.