The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC
Tasted Thursday, February 8, 2018 by dcwino with 950 views
I recently acquired a vertical of Haut Brion from 1998 to 2009, twelve bottles in total. We organized a cost share dinner for eight. My original plan was to start with an eight-vintage vertical of Dom Perignon. Luckily a couple of the guys had more sense than I did and we ended up with only four bottles.
Other than the 02, which was slightly corked, all showed well. It was very educational and fascinating to drink them side by side. Other than the 02 and 03, all of the wines showed exceptional balance and finesse which Haut Brion is known for. The 00 and 09 were perfect for me. The 05 was a bit tight but there is no doubt that it will be a perfect wine in another decade or two. The 98 was also exceptional. I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality of the 99, 01, 06 and 08.
The 02 and the 04 Rose are drinking incredibly well. The 06 has gained weight and evolving similar to the 02. The 09 seems elegant and fresh, hopefully it will gain weight in another few years.
The 99 is a great way to start, the wine to own. The 01 is a classic Haut Brion showing so much finesse.
The 00 is simply perfect. The 98 is an exceptional wine like the 98 Cheval Blanc. The 03 shows the 03 ripeness and clearly suffers from being in the flight.
The 04 is slightly lean. The 06 shows very well.
The 07 is similar to the 04. The 08 shows a lot of promise.
Two monumental wines.
The Haut Brion portion of the dinner lasted until 10:30 so we had a plenty of time to enjoy. As usual, we were having so much fun that most of us stayed until midnight.
2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne 97 Points
France, Champagne
Lucky to drink this again only two weeks apart. Absolutely brilliant showing consistent with the last bottle. Perfectly mature yet youthful and vibrant nose displaying candied lemon, baked apple, granny smith, white flower, ginger and crushed rock. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered decadent yellow fruit, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and a long sweet yellow fruit driven finish. Once again, there is a hint of bitterness that still needs to be resolved. The 02 Dom has reached its youthful peak. Excellent showing.
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2006 Dom Pérignon Champagne 95 Points
France, Champagne
This is starting to show beautifully, similar to the 02 in decadent fruit expression and concentration. For my palate, the 06 shows more white fruit where the 02 is dominated by decadent yellow fruit. Expressive nose displaying pear, apple, lemonade, honey, acacia flower and mineral. Excellent concentration, rich and ripe, abundant fine mousse, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and a long ripe white fruit and mineral driven finish. It has gained weight in the past two years. Clearly more youthful than the 02 but following the same aging curve. Excellent showing.
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2009 Dom Pérignon Champagne 93 Points
France, Champagne
Very pretty and elegant at the moment. Delicious clean nose displaying lemon, pear, granny smith and mineral. Medium concentration, sweet white fruit driven palate impression, generous amount of very fine mousse, medium acidity, strong mineral presence and a clean and delicate finish. The 06 seemed lighter two years ago so I am hoping that this will also gain weight. For now, more delicate compared to the older brethren. Drinking nicely in a very youthful way.
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2004 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé 96 Points
France, Champagne
Gorgeous refine Burgundian nose displaying raspberry soda, cherry, a hint of smoke, sweet spices, rose, coffee, brioche and mineral. Beautifully balanced palate, silky and polished, incredibly fine mousse, delicious red fruit driven palate impression, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long subtle red fruit driven finish with a hint of cinnamon and limestone at the end. This is drinking beautifully but can improve for another decade or two, becoming like the glorious 85.
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