Burgundies and Barolos (89 & 10 DRC, Clos Vougeot, Lambrays, and more) at Fig Tree

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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

  Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

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.

• 1964 Luigi Bosca Barolo Riserva Speciale

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Decanted 9 hours in advance – 30 minutes of air before back in the bottle uncorked until serving. No sediment, great dark ruby color, promising nose on the decant that never reach its apogee to my liking. This was easily the most polarizing wine as many people had this wine in their top three but people (like me who supplied the bottle) were less than satisfied with its showing. The wine definitely needed help (i.e. food with acid) as everyone who had tomato soup thought the wine was fabulous while those who did not have the soup were less enthusiastic. Nice primary flavors but stewed fruit and raisins. As expected this wine had more secondary notes but could have used even more air – or was my palate off since much of the table enjoyed the wine? I have a few more so we shall see.

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

• 1967 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Decanted 9 hours in advance – 15 minutes of air before back in the bottle uncorked until serving. Surprising amount of sediment. Much lighter color than the Bosca and more muted aromas on the decant. Soft and blanched nose when served. Rustic fruits and delicious fully resolved wine. As expected, fully mature but soft leather, gentle tobacco and very tasty. A really good wine. Exactly what I was hoping for by putting these aged Barolos here in the lineup.

  Post a Comment / 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

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.

• 2005 Dominique Laurent Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Decanted 3.5 hours in advance, back in the bottle after 20 minutes uncorked. Reasonable amount of sediment. Quite secondary nose of the decant but more flavorful and primary nose when served – probably just the contrast with the Barolos. Ripe, dark fruits on the palate. A much more powerful wine following the 30+ year old Burgs and 50+ year old Barolos. Well-integrated oak – tasty and not offensive or distracting. Excellent flavor balanced against some of the emerging secondary notes. Plenty of years ahead for this wine. Delicious wine and great flight.

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

• 2005 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  4 hour double decant. More settled on the nose than the Gevrey-Chambertin – balanced and ready to drink. Soft on the palate delivering rich red fruits and plums with elegant earthy notes. A fantastic expression of this well-regarded vintage. Delicious wine.

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

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.

• 2009 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Cuvée Docteur Peste Faiveley

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Decanted 4 hours in advance, back in the bottle after 40 minutes uncorked. No sediment. The nose was pleasant but lacked complexity. Soft and flavorful on the palate – rich primary notes of dark fruits, raspberries, and plums. Easy drinking and showing controlled strength. With each sip it improves. Maybe decant 5+ hours next time. A stellar wine.

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

• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Decanted 6 hours in advance for 2 hours before back in the bottle with no cork before serving. Perfect provenance. Wonderfully balanced nose of red fruits and earthy aromas. Delicious on the palate displaying greater depth than the 09 Hospices – wild game, intriguing aromas, and tea notes. An amazing wine with a long finish drinking in top form.

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

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!