Sotheby's Tasting

Notes on about half of the wine from the tasting, including highlights and surprising poor performers.

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
  Tasting. Exceptional balance with bright red fruit and crisp acidity. Floral nose with red cherry and amazing spice. Great length and complexity. I'd hold it for another five years before trying again. (95 pts.)
• 1995 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
  Wine tasting. Very spicy nose with intense strawberry flavors. Same fruit continues on to the palate along with light Asian spice. Mushroom earthiness is tarting to emerge in the middle and on the finish. Really great length with lots of nuance and complexity. I think this is just now approaching its zenith. (93 pts.)
• 1997 Domaine Leroy Chambolle-Musigny Les Fremières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
  Wine tasting. Floral nose, ripe strawberry aromas. Palate was also strawberry and some dried, concentrated red cherry flavors, along with moderate baking spice in background. Firm and structured vs. most other 1997 lower tier red Burgundies, but this is Leroy! Good balance, integration and finish. wonderful length. (92 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
  Pre-auction wine tasting. Great nose of dried thyme, espelette pepper and freshly cut flowers. Nice balance of red and black fruit, but seemingly shut down and overshadowed by tannins today, but I'd expect this to really show great starting around 2010. Very long finish showcasing lots of black cherry. (92 pts.)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
  Tasting. Intense black fruit aromas with lots of spice, not necessarily showing the "200% new oak" character. Still somewhat tannic. this shows NSG firmness in the middle, still needing another of years. Better 2008-2016. (91 pts.)
• 1997 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots Domaine Gagey - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
  Tasting. Good aromatics, really showing Boudots' proximity to Vosne. Mostly black cherry with a hint of blackberry showing the vintage ripeness, which is offset by fairly good acidity. Good spice and leather on the finish. Probably just entering its peak, this is another impressive Jadot 1997 from a vintage in which many other top producers disappointed. (91 pts.)
• 1999 Domaine Perrot-Minot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe d'Orveau Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
  Tasting. Perfumed nose shows ripe fruit, new oak, perhaps some whole cluster (?). Lots of red fruit on nose, somewhat shut down right now in middle, hinting at its power and finesse on long finish. Better after 2010. (90 pts.)
• 1988 Domaine Jacques Prieur Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
  Tasting. Very good fruit and balance, performs well for the vintage, but at its peak today, time to drink up. (91 pts.)
• 1995 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
  Wine tasting. Reasonably well advanced at ten years old, nose is more barnyard than fruit or spice. Black fruit on the palate but not particularly dense or concentrated. Good acidity and minerality make this more a food wine than a uniquely interesting wine. (89 pts.)
• 1989 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
  Wine tasting. Pale fruit with some better spice on nose. Fruit doesn't come across particularly elegantly on palate, with prominent acidity and some overripe character. I would wait a while longer, thinking this will become more interesting when less primary and almost completely secondary. (88 pts.)
• 1997 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
  Pre-auction wine tasting. Spicy nose shows cinnamon and nutmeg with some nice red cherry fruit and rose petal. Palate shows the same cherry flavors but little of the spice from the nose. Second time I have had this wine with exact same perspective, last time was probably in 2002. Assessing what's in the glass, I'd say this wine needs to be opened young, but I'm going to hold onto my remaining two bottles until at least 2010 to see if this becomes more "LaTache." (87 pts.)
• 1995 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
  At a wine tasting. Dried red and black fruit on both the nose and palate. Fruit was slightly harsh, wine was quite tannic, quite characteristic of many 1995s. Good earthy elements are starting to emerge, but finish was somewhat short. (87 pts.)
• 1996 Domaine Leroy Pommard Les Vignots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard
  Tasting. Perfumed, floral start, very typically Leroy. Red and black cherry on palate with modest spice. Better after 2008, this still needs time to soften. (89 pts.)
• 1996 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
  Wine tasting. Strange wine. Not much on nose, followed by muddy flavors with little fruit. Lots of tannins and acidity. No discernible flaw. Odd wine. (80 pts.)
• 1991 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
  Tasting. Leathery aromas to start with an intriguing perfumed charm alongside some eucalyptus and mint hints. Palate more subdued than I expected based on the nose, but good, balanced black fruit with moderate length. (90 pts.)