Community Tasting Note

Cailles wrote:

Sunday, October 24, 2021 - Complete DRC Vintage Horizontals 2017 vs 2018: Since Covid didn’t allow for a proper arrivage tasting last year, we tasted the 2017s in direct taste-offs vs their 2018 counterparts this year. All bottles were opened a few hours earlier, not decanted but we got enough time to follow each wine over 45+ minutes in the glass which allowed for proper aeration and analysis. A few observations: 1) The 2017s are disarmingly easy to drink, charming, soft and open. 2) The 2018 show more depth but will need more time to flesh out, open up and become rounder. 3) Best ever Cortons. Slowly but surely they grow into their allocation (not market) price. 4) The showstopping RSVs edge out the Richebourgs with the purest fruit expression vs raw and today a bit unintegrated power. 5) The La Taches and RCs are playing in their own category in terms of complexity but the RCs are a bit closed. 6) The Montrachets are fabulous with a sharp, complex and complete 2017 as a consensus WOTN and a 2018 which is a bit broader but still amazing.

TN: Both vintages of RC are deep, elegant and full of understatement. Only medium expressive at this point, less open and singing vs the La Taches or RSVs but you could sense all the substance underneath, especially with the 2018. At this point the fruit has retreated a bit and more smoke, stems, herbal, vegetal and mineral notes dominate the picture with some sexy burnt sugar notes. The unbelievable elegance of both vintages is nevertheless apparent with every sniff and sip. So soft and velvety, weightless and still super intense, perfect freshness and long lasting finish. Both wines were only drinking on a 93/94 points level today with a slight edge for the 2018 due to even more depth, but the potential is immense.

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