1996 Burgundy Retrospective - The Last Session

This was the last session of the five sessions. The lunch was held at Eddie V in Tysons Corner. The wines showed really well in the fourth session yet the finale was even better. All the 96s came from Bryan’s cellar. My sincere gratitude as he kindly offered all the wines at far below the current market prices. The wines were impeccably cellared, hence amazingly youthful.

All showed incredibly well. One of the most fun and educational flight of my life.

• 1996 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Rich golden color, similar to the Drouhin. Rich complex nose displaying decadent yellow fruit, lemon curd, peach, crème brulee, a hint of butter scotch, candied ginger, toffee, crushed white pepper, spicy spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of decadent yellow fruit, rich and warm but also good focus and precision, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a long decadent yellow fruit driven finish with butterscotch and ginger at the end. With air, the toffee note is more noticeable. Drinking beautifully.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Louis Latour Montrachet 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Light color similar to the DRC. Really delicious nose displaying subtle tropical yellow fruit, pineapple, apple tart, coconut, white flowers, light caramel and mineral. Beautifully balanced plate, nicely layered sweet subtle yellow fruit, silky and fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long sweet yellow fruit driven finish with coconut and pineapple at the end. With air, the gap widens against the other three, going from 95pts to 94 or 93. Very good showing, really delicious.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Expressive nose displaying decadent yellow fruit, apricot, apple pie, lemon oil, crème brulee, a hint of butter scotch, spicy spices and mineral. Unbelievable concentration, layers upon layers of decadent yellow fruit, rich, opulent and oily yet also perfectly harmonious and detailed, bright acidity and mineral, and an incredibly long opulent yellow fruit driven finish with spicy spices at the end. This is more DRC Montrachet like than the 96 DRC Montrachet, i.e. rich, ripe and exotic. Exceptional showing.

  Read 2 Comments / Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet 99 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  The most youthful color of the flight. Absolutely gorgeous nose displaying elegant pure white fruit with a hint of yellow, white peach, apple tart, a hint of lemon curd, lemon oil, white flower, oyster shell, smoke, lanolin, cool breeze and limestone. Perfectly balanced palate, layers upon layers of concentrated pure citrus fruit, rich and extracted yet incredibly precise and airy, bright acidity, strong mineral and a seamless incredibly long very fine mineral driven finish. I am really surprised by how elegant it shows, drinking more like a great Chevalier Montrachet. With two hours of air, it starts to show more caramel and becomes exotic. This is a unbelievably fresh example.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Perfectly mature hedonistic nose displaying decadent slightly dry red fruit with a hint of black, plum, dry cherry, blackberry, noticeable stem, Vosne spice, cinnamon, Chinese medicine, soy, black truffle, caramel and mineral. Fully integrated palate, layers upon layers of slightly dry red and black fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity, strong earth mineral and a long sweet black fruit driven finish with soy and black truffle at the end. I have often found DRC Echezeaux to be enjoyable yet not as “serious” as the other crus. This has to be the most complex DRC Echezeaux of my life. Incredible showing.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Unfortunately corked.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Leroy Romanée St. Vivant 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Incredibly complex and hedonistic nose displaying perfectly ripe black fruit with a hint of red, blackberry jam, black cherry, strawberry, Vosne spice, sous bois, tree bark, soy, miso soup, black truffle, sesame, cinnamon and earth. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated black fruit, rich, big and opulent but also silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, still a hint of tannins and seamless long black fruit driven finish with Vosne spice and sesame at the end. Incredibly showing.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Beautifully mature complex nose displaying sweet red and black fruit, raspberry preserve, black cherry, plum, rose, strong spearmint, sap, stem, caramel, animal, sous bois, cinnamon, Vosne spice and earth. Excellent concentration, very finely layered sweet black fruit, rich and deeply toned, also silky and fluid, bright acidity, strong earthy mineral, a bit coarse tannins and a long sweet black fruit driven finish with Chinese medicine and cinnamon at the end. This is a rich masculine RSV. Drinking beautifully.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 99 Points

  France, Champagne

  Incredibly youthful energetic nose displaying decadent yet pure yellow fruit, apple juice, candied lemon peel, lemon curd, candied ginger, smoke, sweet spices, oyster jus, white flower and crushed rock. Perfectly integrated palate, layers upon layers of decadent yet pure yellow fruit, generous and sweet but also incredibly focused, energetic and precise, generous very fine mousse, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a long sweet yellow fruit driven finish. The 96 CDC is on fire.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Medium expressive nose displaying subtle red fruit, ginseng candy, sous bois, tree bark, cinnamon and earth. There is noticeable dirty damp cellar smell that is bothersome. Medium concentration, subtle red fruit, bright acidity, medium mineral, still showing coarse tannins and a short finish due to the dirty damp cellar note. I believe this is correct showing, better to avoid.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Shy red fruit, plum and cherry, caramel, ginger and tree bark. Clearly advanced, weird.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine Leroy Richebourg 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Perfectly mature nose displaying rich concentrated black fruit, blackberry, black cherry, caramel, sous bois, rose, ash, cinnamon, Vosne spice, black truffle, tree bark and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of sweet black fruit, rich and deeply toned but also beautifully detailed and precise, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, slightly coarse tannins and a seamless long sweet black fruit driven finish with a hint of Vosne spice at the end. Drinking beautifully.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Starts with the classic DRC stem, followed by slightly dry red fruit, plum, dry cherry, raspberry preserve, sous bois, caramel, cinnamon, Vosne spice, leather, tree bark and earth. Fully integrated palate, layers upon layers of slightly dry sweet red fruit, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely integrated tannins and a long sweet red fruit driven finish with cinnamon and tree bark at the end. Drinking beautifully.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles 96 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Rich and complex nose displaying concentrated yellow fruit, apple pie, apple vinegar, almond, brioche, a hint of butter scotch, cinnamon, saline and limestone mineral. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of decadent concentrated yellow fruit, rich and opulent, medium generous medium fine mousse, bright acidity, strong mineral and a long concentrated sweet yellow fruit driven finish with almond paste and cinnamon at the end. This is a rich slightly oxidative style of Champagne.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

  Youthful yet unbelievably complex nose displaying sweet black and red fruit, blackberry, strawberry, black cherry, a hint of licorice, noticeable stem, sous bois, espresso bean, Vosne spice, Chinese herbal medicine, grilled fat, cinnamon, tree bark and mineral. Perfectly harmonious, very finely layered perfectly ripe black and red fruit, quite intense and concentrated yet also silky, precise and detailed, and a long intense black fruit driven finish with Chinese herbal medicine and sous bois at the end. This seems slightly leaner and more polished than the Richebourg. This incredibly youthful example can improved for another couple of decades.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

As usual, we were having so much fund that the lunch lasted seven hours.