“A Mouth Full of Joy”

18 November 2009 – Lamont’s Cottesloe

I was lucky enough to attend the “Mouth Full of Joy” tasting at Lamont’s in Cottesloe the other day. I don’t know if John Jens coined the phrase or if he heard it somewhere else, but when he suggested that Champagne should taste like a “mouthful of joy”, I felt that this summed up quality champagne perfectly.

It stands to reason that the better the wine, the more joy it brings, and this tasting gave me the opportunity to taste many of the better known wines on the market. I was interested to see whether reputation and price were reflected in the absolute quality of the wines.

So how did they look?

The big winner was the Pol Gesner NV. This is a direct import by BWS (Woolworths) and has performed consistently in my tastings over the last couple of years. This was the equal of many wines in the tasting, but is available for as little as $33 dollars in dozen buys.

It was not surprising that Pol Roger, Veuve, Roederer etc. performed well, nor was it a surprise that Moet was quite mediocre.

On a side-bar, it is worth getting on to the Lamont’s mailing list, as they have the best line up of tastings in Perth at present.

Results

Louis Roederer – Brut Premier – NV (18.6). Lifted, bright and racy. The nose had floral characters, lemon, fresh bread and a touch of toast. The palate was creamy, fine, fresh and vibrant with grapefruit to close. Not showing the greatest complexity, but a delightful aperitif wine. This is my style of wine.

Pol Roger – Vintage – 1999 (18.5++). Wow, this is special. Opens with complex brioche and citrus characters, but appears quite closed. The palate is super fine and tight and is defined by powerful fruit with excellent length. Lemony acid to close. This will get even higher marks in a couple of years (the 1990 is sensational now). As with the entire Pol Roger range, this represents great value!

Pol Roger – Extra Cuvee de Reserve – NV (18.5). Bigger and more complex than most here. Very fine mousse and nose. This is very fine and elegant, but has a degree of richness and depth that makes it stand out. Lovely mouth feel and persistence.

Pol Gessner – NV (18.5). Lovely colour and very fine mousse. The nose is complex with yeasty/brioche notes, but retains enough freshness to keep it really interesting. The palate is complex, rich and round, with a very fine finish. Excellent length and mouth feel, with racy acidity to close. This is an absolute bargain at under $35 from BWS.

Gossett – Brut – NV (18.5). This is rich, complex and very long. Lovely almond meal and fresh brioche. A complete wine that is seamless from front to back.

Veuve Cliquot – Brut – NV (18.4). Creamy and complex nose with a fine mouse and elegant nose. The palate was zesty, big, rich long and fine. The texture and mouth feel were great. Very persistent. A lovely wine.

Tattinger – Brut – NV (18). A touch more colour than some here. This also had more honey characters and some mushroom/forest floor notes. The palate is developed, honeyed, round and long. Builds in the mouth to a very satisfying finish. Finer than I expected.

Bollinger – Special Cuvee – NV (18). This was a more forward fruit driven style. The fruit is a bit simple right now and it is a touch foamy in the mouth, but the fruit was clean and fresh, with good length and persistence. Opened in the glass and built power. The balance of the wine stood out. I expect this to improve in the short term.

Laurent Perrier – Brut LP – NV (17.6). Citrus and brioche dominate the very fine mousse. There is also a slight toastyness and mealy character. The palate is richer and broader than some here, but lacks the length of the best.

Moet & Chandon – NV (17). The darkest of all the wines here. A fine mousse, but not revealing a lot on the nose. The palate is creamy and quite rich and builds intensity. Lacks the depth of flavour or freshness of the best here. Easy drinking (I wonder if this is a pinot dominant blend?).

Piper Heidsieck – NV (16.9). This is a lighter style that appeared a bit young. The mousse was a little coarse, and it was a bit foamy in the mouth. Simple clean and fresh with no rough edges. Value at $33 from Vintage Cellars.