Malternative Belgium #42 Le Lion Sage 50,4%

MALTERNATIVE BELGIUM #42 “LE LION SAGE” LAURICHESSE LOT 75 50,4%

Roaring GC

Laurichesse (GC) and Malternative Belgium, a duo that we have already seen here. Another Lot 75, described as even more fruity than the previous one. 50,4%. And only 396 bottles available for this bottling. Let’s go!

Colour: Dark amber, orange lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Nice heady citrus notes at first. Humid rancio. Full of tropical scents: papaya, banana stew, guava. Hints of chalky notes in the background. Kind of acidulous fruity notes, a bit like a Cantillon beer. A tad of resinous shades with air.

Palate: Thick texture. Great fruitiness carried by the perfect amount of acidity. Guava again, vine peach, overripe pears. A tad calvados-y in the aftertaste. Ample richness to face this high ABV (I’m hearing some rum lovers laughing here). Nice Sichuan pepper aromas and a bit of mentholated notes too.

Last Notes: More delicate now. Still some heady notes, mainly on orange blossom, but this time counter-balanced by rich bourbon vanilla scents. Hints of the fruity sugariness of a Sauternes wine. Impressions of infused plants like chamomile or verbena. And tropical shades are striking back. Intense peach aromas too. Precious wood notes in the aftertaste. It ends on yuzu bitterness.

A full-bodied Grande Champagne, with the complexity that you can expect from a 50yo cognac. This isn’t not my favorite kind of GC to be honest (I miss a bit of sharp/chalky shades), but I’ve to admit that everything is here.

My very subjective note: 90+/100

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