René Engel: Weirdest of the Vougeot flight, which are all somewhat different. Showing some vintage herbal qualities but not medicinal, dark broody fruit, spicy but not quite sexy. Clearly of quality just quite different, which is not surprising given the producer. 93
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Rene Engel Dinner (Benoit Bistro, Manhattan): Similar in vein to the 02 and dominated by 96 characteristics. Acidity was very pronounced and the wine was extremely rustic. Almost exhibited a gevery-like funk / animal.
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Blind tasting. Orange, brick rim, oxidized blood red center. Red fruits, herbs, tea, smoke, tobacco, leather, hawthorn, orange peel and incense. Very tannic and bony structure.
Wine was aged prematurely for a 1996 Grand Cru. Label stated the bottle was imported by a merchant, Stacole, in Florida. Back then wine was shipped by sea and without climate controlled. The bottle, along with others in the lot, might have been exposed to heat during transport.
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Not my best bottle of this, unusually bretty. Only partially blows off and you never get a great look at the purity of fruit that should be here. Technically sound underneath, has robust red fruit, clean bottles should be very good. See 4/20/18, 11/18/20 notes.
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Intricate, detailed, elegant, complex. Big projection out of the glass. Cool red cherry, loads of spice, some sous bois and earth influence but more clean than it is wild, a little of both though. Palate has soft red fruit, fully integrated and silky edges. Still has power but the palate is a little delicate. Imagine this is close to peak drinking. Notes from memory a few days ago, but very special and a great showing.
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Clos Vougeot Lunch (Paradise Valley, AZ USA): Served blind. Floral, light and elegant, really impressive aroma -- best aroma of the reds so far, really enticing. Light translucent color. This is a very elegant rendition of Clos Vougeot.
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Best showing so far from the EP case. Fantastic nose, only old Burgundy could have bouquet like this, could smell this whole day long. Just showing slight acidity edge intially, still some tannins, no hint of alcohol, good balance intially. Acidity emerged by the end of the 2 hours lunch, the bottle was still going through evolution. Drinking well but better on the nose than on the palate. Plenty of life left for the rest of the case. WS avg price of £690 certainly raised the eyebrows, I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that price for the quality. But that’s another topic all together.
This was very good tonight. Drank along side a 90 Roumier Chambolle (which was excellent) and this was darker in color, deeper and richer. Almost purple in color this was impressively nuanced with darker fruits, smoke, some blueberries good spice and texture. Zero funk - very clean bottle. A great example of Clos Vougeot.
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Whiffs of volatile acidity off the pop which quickly blew off. Big nose of cool raspberry and blue fruit, great spice, mild sauvage, underbrush and damp earth, some stalkiness and stemmy florals. A dark red fruited palate with distinctive rustic texture. Very happy with these. Plenty of fruit stuffing but showing with some tightness that suggests these will outlast many of the over-acid '96s.
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Rene Engel dinner at Les Amis. Superb nose of dark roses, cherries, pomegranate, spice, ground pepper, meat. This was intense, rustic, and slightly acidic, but with a massive amount of red and blue fruit to balance the wine perfectly. This was slightly mature on the palate, sour cherries, grapefruit, tangerine, but the sheer complexity of the wine just gave so much pleasure - the truffle, undergrowth, smoke, braised meat, wood spice, leather, mint. How could a Vougeot have been made this well? The finish lasted for eternity, the wine gained weight with extended time in glass, the fruits were immense and the balance was quite perfect.
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Damp, mineral-rich soil, damp underbrush, no brett but still quite rustic and wild aromas at first. Grows into a more perfumed and spiced bouquet with dense, dark, and focused black cherry fruit. Amazing aromatics. More dense cherry on palate with spices; cloves. Very focused, very pure. Fruit brightens up quite a bit with airtime as soily notes take more a a background. Some sweetness through the fruit. Feels like great balance here. Awesome.
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excellent wine! bright fruit nose with a alight musty background taste fresh and fruity cherry and leather smooth finish hard to believe its a 20 year old burgundy
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The 1996 Engel Clos Vougeot was surprisingly accessible, and really quite expressive on the nose and palate. The bouquet is quite lifted, with a touch of volatile acidity (a trait common to the 1996 Engel wines), and an appealing melange of wild plum, roast game, herbs and some hints of oak vanillin. On the palate the wine is fresh and seamless, with quite a broad, expansive attack but without all that much concentration or structure at the core. A second bottle was corked.
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Melvyn's 50th Birthday Bash (Hua Ting, Orchard Hotel): Second flawed bottle. Corked. The nose stank of wet cardboard and iodine alongside notes of dark cherries, spice and earth. I think this would have been quite good if not for the TCA. The palate was similarly marked by a cardboardy over-layer, but beneath that, it felt full and complete, with still rather deep flavours of dark-fruited black cherries, blackberries and lots of smoky spice underscored by bright 1996 acidity. Finish was just a bit flat, petering out with some orange peel notes and a little trail of minerality. That may have just been the effect of the flaw though. Pity.
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After 18 years of long wait, finally this wine is ready. Bright acidity level of this vintage means lots of frustration over the years. But wait no more. Sweet and smooth on entry, slightly dry mid-palate, long with a touch of warmth at finish. Just enter its prime drinking window and should last for a while. Still rustic in nature though.
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Domaine René Engel Dinner (Fleur de Sel, Tras Street): Sadly corked. I have a feeling this would have been really ncie otherwise. The nose was quite infected by cardboard notes, but the palate had a lovely purity, balance and structure to it, with Vosne spice and mineral aplenty. Unfortunately, the fruit had been thinned out rather severely by the TCA.
Subtle nose and smudge. Notes of wet earth, wood, spices and cassis. Slightly acidic on entry but not yet become intrusive, typical bright acidity of 96' Burg. Big wine, good texture and long finish but lacks finesse. No hint of alcohol. Probably a tad behind the 96' Engel Echezeaux consumed recently. Not Grand Cru stuff. 89-92 pts.
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med- garnet with tinge of ruby still at the core; med developing, mushroom, forest floor, surprising cherry cola and mint; dry, med+ acid, med tannin, med body/alcohol, med intensity/finish, forest floor, herbal, cherry; very good- still alive with good acidity, herbal and mint was almost like a peppermint drop, smooth and refined
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Still quite deep red. Not overly complex or powerful but well balanced and very pleasant red cherry, warm plum fruit with shades of undergrowth. Good body. A high quality wine but not necessarily Grand Cru standard. Aeveral years left. 4/5 (90-94)
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Dark red color, nose of damp earthy, slightly floral and dark fruit. Medium plus palate, ripe but lacks depth. Good but perhaps not grand cru quality. Quite a bit behind the 96 Engel Grands Ech.
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Clos Vougeot Dinner (Lavandou): A touch more obvious than the Faiveley; the fruit was damaged and marred by the cork taint. Not a good streak to begin with the reds!
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Consumed at Whisknladle restaurant in La Jolla, with another of Ryan Johnston's multi-course masterpieces. The wine was kindly provided by Marshall Banker, who elected to decant it approximately 30 minutes prior to beginning serial sampling with multiple dishes. The robe on this wine is more reminiscent of a wine 10 years its junior...deep ruby with a red rim. The nose is clean, but takes at least an hour in decanter/glass to open sufficiently (making the decision to decant a prudent one). The aromas are still fairly primary, showing smoke, black cherries, mushrooms and a whiff of clove. The palate shows this to be a full-throttle Pinot (in terms of weight), with medium acidity, fairly generous and slightly dry tannins and flavors which mirror the nose. The middle palate is solid and the finish is medium-to-long, albeit slightly dry. This wine went best with the roasted chicken (smoked potato, black kale, roasted garlic and pancetta). This is a Burgundy which simply needs time. It may merit a higher score in the future. Drink 1/15-12/25.
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Ran's 40th Birthday Extravaganza (Israel): Barnyard and sous-bois on the nose, but on the palate limpid and not giving much away at first. It took quite a long time to open up, and even then failed to really excite me. Perhaps it suffered from following the much bigger 1998 Girardin Clos de la Roche.
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Still not sure about this wine. I have had one perfect bottle , one corked and two that start with very sharp tannins that take over an hour to soften.Should be better than this as the case was correctly cellared. Nose is not classic burgundian , mid colour and whilst the fruit comes through the sharp tannins kick in. This wine should be perfect now but needs decanting for an hour before tasting .
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At Prime 112 w Mike & Linda Bittel. The 1st of Mike's 2 reds. I preferred it to the 99 Artadi Vina El Pison. (Ellen preferred the Artadi). After testing w and without aeration, used Vinturi aerator to acceleratedevelopment. It needed it, because ot continued to develop over the 1 hour of consumption.At first modest brett and woodsy forest floor flavors, which eveolved nicely. Alan Meadows say will reach peak next year, and based on our tasting experience, I would agree. Thanks Mike.
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Dinner at The Orchard with NYC Ebobbers (NYC): We woke this one up too soon. So very young. It is earthier, showing great minerality, and more traditional than the Jadot or the Gros in this flight. Very tight right now and showing bright crunchy red fruit and a hint of cherry cough syrup. This is a wine to keep.
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3/15/2024 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
René Engel: Weirdest of the Vougeot flight, which are all somewhat different. Showing some vintage herbal qualities but not medicinal, dark broody fruit, spicy but not quite sexy. Clearly of quality just quite different, which is not surprising given the producer. 93
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3/15/2024 - nmmnori Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rene Engel Dinner (Benoit Bistro, Manhattan): Similar in vein to the 02 and dominated by 96 characteristics. Acidity was very pronounced and the wine was extremely rustic. Almost exhibited a gevery-like funk / animal.
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11/18/2023 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
Great bottle, much better than that last a year ago. Mix of pure red fruit and a certain sauvage / wild rusticity. Loads of spice, darker fruit.
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7/21/2023 - GuanYu Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blind tasting. Orange, brick rim, oxidized blood red center. Red fruits, herbs, tea, smoke, tobacco, leather, hawthorn, orange peel and incense. Very tannic and bony structure.
Wine was aged prematurely for a 1996 Grand Cru. Label stated the bottle was imported by a merchant, Stacole, in Florida. Back then wine was shipped by sea and without climate controlled. The bottle, along with others in the lot, might have been exposed to heat during transport.
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11/25/2022 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 92 Points
Not my best bottle of this, unusually bretty. Only partially blows off and you never get a great look at the purity of fruit that should be here. Technically sound underneath, has robust red fruit, clean bottles should be very good. See 4/20/18, 11/18/20 notes.
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11/18/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
Intricate, detailed, elegant, complex. Big projection out of the glass. Cool red cherry, loads of spice, some sous bois and earth influence but more clean than it is wild, a little of both though. Palate has soft red fruit, fully integrated and silky edges. Still has power but the palate is a little delicate. Imagine this is close to peak drinking. Notes from memory a few days ago, but very special and a great showing.
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11/4/2021 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smoke, animal and darkish red fruit. Good tranperency. Palate has lovely sweetness.
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3/7/2020 - hprphf wrote: 95 Points
La Paulee 2020 - Gala Dinner (Pier 60): Very nice spice, backward finish, heat remains for so long. Great showing. 95
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3/29/2019 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Clos Vougeot Lunch (Paradise Valley, AZ USA): Served blind. Floral, light and elegant, really impressive aroma -- best aroma of the reds so far, really enticing. Light translucent color. This is a very elegant rendition of Clos Vougeot.
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6/13/2018 - pclin wrote: 93 Points
Best showing so far from the EP case. Fantastic nose, only old Burgundy could have bouquet like this, could smell this whole day long. Just showing slight acidity edge intially, still some tannins, no hint of alcohol, good balance intially. Acidity emerged by the end of the 2 hours lunch, the bottle was still going through evolution. Drinking well but better on the nose than on the palate. Plenty of life left for the rest of the case. WS avg price of £690 certainly raised the eyebrows, I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that price for the quality. But that’s another topic all together.
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4/21/2018 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was very good tonight. Drank along side a 90 Roumier Chambolle (which was excellent) and this was darker in color, deeper and richer. Almost purple in color this was impressively nuanced with darker fruits, smoke, some blueberries good spice and texture. Zero funk - very clean bottle. A great example of Clos Vougeot.
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4/20/2018 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points
Whiffs of volatile acidity off the pop which quickly blew off. Big nose of cool raspberry and blue fruit, great spice, mild sauvage, underbrush and damp earth, some stalkiness and stemmy florals. A dark red fruited palate with distinctive rustic texture. Very happy with these. Plenty of fruit stuffing but showing with some tightness that suggests these will outlast many of the over-acid '96s.
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5/19/2016 - justburg wrote: 93 Points
Rene Engel dinner at Les Amis. Superb nose of dark roses, cherries, pomegranate, spice, ground pepper, meat. This was intense, rustic, and slightly acidic, but with a massive amount of red and blue fruit to balance the wine perfectly. This was slightly mature on the palate, sour cherries, grapefruit, tangerine, but the sheer complexity of the wine just gave so much pleasure - the truffle, undergrowth, smoke, braised meat, wood spice, leather, mint. How could a Vougeot have been made this well? The finish lasted for eternity, the wine gained weight with extended time in glass, the fruits were immense and the balance was quite perfect.
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4/21/2016 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 92 Points
Damp, mineral-rich soil, damp underbrush, no brett but still quite rustic and wild aromas at first. Grows into a more perfumed and spiced bouquet with dense, dark, and focused black cherry fruit. Amazing aromatics. More dense cherry on palate with spices; cloves. Very focused, very pure. Fruit brightens up quite a bit with airtime as soily notes take more a a background. Some sweetness through the fruit. Feels like great balance here. Awesome.
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4/2/2016 - ricknat1 wrote: flawed
Corked
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2/11/2016 - christyler wrote: flawed
Corked
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2/1/2016 - jww Likes this wine: 92 Points
excellent wine! bright fruit nose with a alight musty background
taste fresh and fruity cherry and leather
smooth finish hard to believe its a 20 year old burgundy
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1/15/2016 - soyhead wrote: flawed
Clos Vougeot Tasting: Badly corked. shame.
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9/20/2015 - jww Likes this wine: 90 Points
very rich bright color does not show much age
nice nose
fresh fruit on the tounge cherries berries
will age for another 2-5 years
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8/24/2015 - nstow wrote:
This wine continues to improve and evolve with age. Wonderfully smooth and balanced with silky mellow fruit. 4+/5
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12/11/2014 - pclin wrote: 91 Points
Similar to the last bottle. Approachable and decent balance, just rustic in style, not for everyone. (B-)
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10/24/2014 - William Kelley wrote:
The 1996 Engel Clos Vougeot was surprisingly accessible, and really quite expressive on the nose and palate. The bouquet is quite lifted, with a touch of volatile acidity (a trait common to the 1996 Engel wines), and an appealing melange of wild plum, roast game, herbs and some hints of oak vanillin. On the palate the wine is fresh and seamless, with quite a broad, expansive attack but without all that much concentration or structure at the core. A second bottle was corked.
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6/18/2014 - Paul S wrote: flawed
Melvyn's 50th Birthday Bash (Hua Ting, Orchard Hotel): Second flawed bottle. Corked. The nose stank of wet cardboard and iodine alongside notes of dark cherries, spice and earth. I think this would have been quite good if not for the TCA. The palate was similarly marked by a cardboardy over-layer, but beneath that, it felt full and complete, with still rather deep flavours of dark-fruited black cherries, blackberries and lots of smoky spice underscored by bright 1996 acidity. Finish was just a bit flat, petering out with some orange peel notes and a little trail of minerality. That may have just been the effect of the flaw though. Pity.
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3/5/2014 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
After 18 years of long wait, finally this wine is ready. Bright acidity level of this vintage means lots of frustration over the years. But wait no more. Sweet and smooth on entry, slightly dry mid-palate, long with a touch of warmth at finish. Just enter its prime drinking window and should last for a while. Still rustic in nature though.
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10/16/2013 - Paul S wrote: flawed
Domaine René Engel Dinner (Fleur de Sel, Tras Street): Sadly corked. I have a feeling this would have been really ncie otherwise. The nose was quite infected by cardboard notes, but the palate had a lovely purity, balance and structure to it, with Vosne spice and mineral aplenty. Unfortunately, the fruit had been thinned out rather severely by the TCA.
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5/17/2013 - pclin wrote: 90 Points
Subtle nose and smudge. Notes of wet earth, wood, spices and cassis. Slightly acidic on entry but not yet become intrusive, typical bright acidity of 96' Burg. Big wine, good texture and long finish but lacks finesse. No hint of alcohol. Probably a tad behind the 96' Engel Echezeaux consumed recently. Not Grand Cru stuff. 89-92 pts.
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12/1/2012 - Obalde wrote:
med- garnet with tinge of ruby still at the core; med developing, mushroom, forest floor, surprising cherry cola and mint; dry, med+ acid, med tannin, med body/alcohol, med intensity/finish, forest floor, herbal, cherry; very good- still alive with good acidity, herbal and mint was almost like a peppermint drop, smooth and refined
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4/5/2012 - nstow Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still quite deep red. Not overly complex or powerful but well balanced and very pleasant red cherry, warm plum fruit with shades of undergrowth. Good body. A high quality wine but not necessarily Grand Cru standard. Aeveral years left. 4/5 (90-94)
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3/8/2012 - Pacalet wrote: 90 Points
Dark red color, nose of damp earthy, slightly floral and dark fruit. Medium plus palate, ripe but lacks depth. Good but perhaps not grand cru quality. Quite a bit behind the 96 Engel Grands Ech.
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12/14/2010 - Faryan wrote: flawed
Clos Vougeot Dinner (Lavandou): A touch more obvious than the Faiveley; the fruit was damaged and marred by the cork taint. Not a good streak to begin with the reds!
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9/19/2010 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
Consumed at Whisknladle restaurant in La Jolla, with another of Ryan Johnston's multi-course masterpieces. The wine was kindly provided by Marshall Banker, who elected to decant it approximately 30 minutes prior to beginning serial sampling with multiple dishes. The robe on this wine is more reminiscent of a wine 10 years its junior...deep ruby with a red rim. The nose is clean, but takes at least an hour in decanter/glass to open sufficiently (making the decision to decant a prudent one). The aromas are still fairly primary, showing smoke, black cherries, mushrooms and a whiff of clove. The palate shows this to be a full-throttle Pinot (in terms of weight), with medium acidity, fairly generous and slightly dry tannins and flavors which mirror the nose. The middle palate is solid and the finish is medium-to-long, albeit slightly dry. This wine went best with the roasted chicken (smoked potato, black kale, roasted garlic and pancetta). This is a Burgundy which simply needs time. It may merit a higher score in the future. Drink 1/15-12/25.
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10/22/2009 - Rani wrote: 90 Points
Ran's 40th Birthday Extravaganza (Israel): Barnyard and sous-bois on the nose, but on the palate limpid and not giving much away at first. It took quite a long time to open up, and even then failed to really excite me. Perhaps it suffered from following the much bigger 1998 Girardin Clos de la Roche.
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10/5/2008 - Silverswimmer wrote:
Last bottle- well passed its best.
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3/22/2008 - Silverswimmer wrote: 87 Points
First corked.Moderate depth with slightly pale rim.Bright and good looking.
Soft entry with good balance of fruit and acidity.Medium lenth.Drink up
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12/23/2007 - Silverswimmer wrote: 83 Points
Still not sure about this wine.
I have had one perfect bottle , one corked and two that start with very sharp tannins that take over an hour to soften.Should be better than this as the case was correctly cellared.
Nose is not classic burgundian , mid colour and whilst the fruit comes through the sharp tannins kick in.
This wine should be perfect now but needs decanting for an hour before tasting .
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4/14/2007 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
At Prime 112 w Mike & Linda Bittel. The 1st of Mike's 2 reds. I preferred it to the 99 Artadi Vina El Pison. (Ellen preferred the Artadi). After testing w and without aeration, used Vinturi aerator to acceleratedevelopment. It needed it, because ot continued to develop over the 1 hour of consumption.At first modest brett and woodsy forest floor flavors, which eveolved nicely. Alan Meadows say will reach peak next year, and based on our tasting experience, I would agree. Thanks Mike.
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4/17/2006 - Blair Curtis wrote: 92 Points
Dinner at The Orchard with NYC Ebobbers (NYC): We woke this one up too soon. So very young. It is earthier, showing great minerality, and more traditional than the Jadot or the Gros in this flight. Very tight right now and showing bright crunchy red fruit and a hint of cherry cough syrup. This is a wine to keep.
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