Charlotte, NC
Tasted Tuesday, June 21, 2022 by kevinpatrick with 194 views
Another great night for our tasting group where we spanned decades of Burgundies and checked off many bucket lists with two DRCs in the lineup. The aged Barolos layered in elegantly despite my individual issues with the '64 Bosca (most disagreed). The meal paired wonderfully with plenty of lamb and veal chops to go around. We had some Duval-Leroy champagne as a palate cleanser but dove right into things pretty quickly. Per usual, provenance is everything as even the 1989 DRC drank impeccably. We have been lucky in this regard.
The 1989 was my wine of the night but thankfully many wines rose to soaring heights as I feared there was only one way to go (i.e. down) after this star showing right out of the gate.
Aged Barolo has more in common with a great Nuit St. Georges than most would think at first blush so I wanted to tap into that idea and see how they would do in a line-up like this. The experiment was a success even if I was unduly harsh on the 64 Bosca.
We are seeing this a lot with modern winemaking techniques and later harvests delivering very different wines than from decades past. Today was no different as these 2005s ushered in bold flavors, complex notes, and well-structured wines with years of life ahead of them.
When it came to voting on wine of the night there was a real fear of recency bias as these two wines really brought the curtain down. Bold and beautiful wines that closed the night magnificently.
Wine of the Night voting had the greatest disparity among named wines with 7 of the 8 wines being mentioned in someone’s Top 3.– a real testament to the exceptional quality on this night. Both DRCs were named in nearly everyone’s Top 3 – 2 people only named one of the DRCs in their Top 3. Voting was Top heavy with the 2010 DRC barely edging out the 1989 for top honors. From there it was a pretty steep drop to the tie for 3rd place between the 09 Hospices de Beaune and the 05 Lambrays. Cheers!
1989 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
6pm slo-ox, consumed at 6:45pm; Perfect provenance and it shows.
Elegant aromas of dusty red fruits. Soft and fully resolved on the palate. Still a hint of primary flavors (red fruits and plums) but this had a fabulous secondary profile – loose herbal tea, sauvage, and notes of browning leaves. Delicate and delicious finish. A wine to be savored and not rushed. An exceptional showing, Drink now.
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1996 Dominique Laurent Clos Vougeot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Slo-ox for 1 hour before consumption. Aromatic nose of red fruits. Balanced on the palate between primary and secondary notes – earthy raspberries with a hint of plum. Tasty finish that lingered for 45+ seconds. This wine felt like it was going to "fall off" but never did. A very nice wine.
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