How To Drink A Birth Year Magnum
First published on Tuesday, 30 December 2008 on www.ieatidrinkiwork.com.au
.jpg "Lanson Brut 1982") |
| What a handsome fellow he is. |
I have to drink the wine soon as it is quite old, but the generally held view that champagne is ready to drink when released doesn’t always hold true. Vintage champagne can age gracefully and evolve into a very different (but equally appealing) drink. Even some non-vintage blends improve with time. It just depends on how much you love the fresh, racy, zesty flavours of youth compared to the more savoury richness and fullness of age. My magnum also has the advantage of being “recently disgorged”, which means it has been on lees for most of its 26 years and was only disgorged in the past few years. The lees — the dead yeast cells from the secondary fermentation in the bottle — have a preservative effect on the wine which slows down its evolution, but also adds more complexity and richness as those cells break down and become part of the wine.
.jpg "Lanson Brut 1982") |
| I have kept the bottle. It survived the great cull of 2011. |
I guess the simplest thing to do is to take the magnum, two back up bottles of champagne and five friends to my favourite restaurant. Out of interest, I emailed Lanson to ask what they suggested I do. They failed to comment on whether the wine would still be drinking well, which is understandable because after 26 years in the bottle there is no guarantee (especially when sealed with cork!). The winemaker did, however, have a helpful suggestion: the wine would be “the ideal choice for a romantic evening”. Maybe my wife is on to something!
Lanson is one of the oldest champagne houses, founded in 1760. They source fruit from 800 acres (approx 323.2 hectares) of vineyards in Champagne. They make a great range of wines and the vintage is always lovely and great value.
Additional information to the story. Added 24/03/2012.
.jpg "Me Leroy, Lanson and Ngeringa - the line up for lunch.") |
| Yep, I was excited. (And hairy). |
As it would turn out, the perfect way to drink my birth year magnum was on a glorious day in November ’09 at Bress Winery in Harcourt. Adam Marks and his wife Lynne put on a lovely lunch for myself, my wife Kristina and S.A. friends Matt & Tel.
The wine was in great shape, developed of course, but in no way over the hill and in fact remarkably bubbly in both senses of the word. Strong savoury, brioche, caramel and nutty notes were interwoven with floral, citrus and spice. The palate was rich and full. Still going strong but definitely developed.
The magnum was a catalyst for a very long day, thankfully Matt doesn’t drink so we could get home.
Interestingly the day ended when Lynne, quite sensibly suggested Adam needed to go inside and we should head home. But lets never mention that again. And just remember the good times.
Overall, I would definitely say that is how you drink a birth year magnum: Friends and good food. The memory of which will stay with me forever.
.jpg "Lanson Brut 1982 The big moment.") |
| Look at that bead. It was full of life. |
It has been something of a habit over the years. Here are a few other birth year wines, drunk with less consternation and more… well, Gusto. All are fondly remembered.
.jpg "Hospices de Beaune, Troplong Mondot, Coulee de Serrant.") |
| Not surviving the cull of 2011 – Birth Year Bottle of Burgundy. Bought in Burgundy. |
.jpg "Leeuwine Estate, Mount Mary, Andre Clouet, Jacquesson.") |
| Also not surviving – Mount Mary Pinot and Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet from ’82 |
