1990 Lanson Vintage Collection Brut Champagne (1.5L)

As Hervé Dantan recalled about the 1990 vintage, and which I remember very well indeed, the 1990 vintage was initially thought to be an absolute classic in the Champagne region, but the vintage has aged at a brisker pace than was initially hoped and today, it is generally thought of as a very good vintage, but certainly not great and has been eclipsed by the racier and more classic wines of 1988. That said, this magnum of 1990 Lanson was really singing, with the non-malo house style here really providing a structural chassis that is not always evident today in other 1990 vintage Brut bottlings. The bouquet is deep, à pointe and complex, offering up scents of baked apple and peach, walnuts, salty soil tones, gentle smokiness and a topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very nicely balanced, with a fine girdle of acidity, elegant mousse, fine focus and lovely bounce on the long and classy finish. A lovely bottle at its apogee, but with plenty of life still ahead.