DRC vs the World Blind Tasting

This fabulous tasting was put together as part of the Burghound in Asia series of events. The premise was simple - three blind flights of 5 wines, each having a DRC along with four other wines of unknown origin. The exercise was meant to gauge whether the best Burgs were still the best pinots in the world. A bit artificial, and a bit unfair maybe, given that the whole cluster DRCs all clearly needed a whole lot more bottle-age while some of the new world pinots were completely open for business. In spite of that, the quality of the trio of Burgs really shone through. What was surprising was how good some of the competitors to the thrown were, with the Felton Road Block 3s and a couple of the Bass Phillips really giving the DRCs a run for their money. The Markowitsch Pinot Noir Reserves were extremely impressive too. It was only the Domaine Serene Monogram that was out of sync. The DRCs may be hyper-expensive, but it was the Monograms that showed as the most overpriced, disappointing wines on the night. All in all though, what a great tasting, with some absolutely awesome wines.

• 2009 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Premium 93 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Gippsland

  I thought this was very impressive. It was clearly a new world wine, but rather more restrained than one or two of the others on show. The nose was actually quite reserved at first. There was a background note of sweet red fruit, a bit candied here, some earth, floral scents with an almost a citrus lift to the bouquet. Pretty attractive. Like the nose, the palate was a bit tight. There was lots of acidity, giving the wine a nice juiciness. With time, quite a spectrum of flavours opened up - blue fruit with some raspberries at the edges, prunes and sultanas on the midpalate, all framed by that bright zesty acidity. There was lots going on at the backend as well. Nice length and presence, mouthfilling flavours with a bit of savoury meat mixing it with the fruit, and then a citrus lift and lots of energy at the finish. All in all an impressive wine - perhaps a little less than well integrated at the moment. However, I have no doubt that this should come together better with a bit of time in the cellar. Good stuff.

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• 2006 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Monogram 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  We picked this out as an Oregon wine on the nose alone. Very expressive, with bright red fruits, flowers, earth and spice, and that whiff of rubberiness that I often associate with new world pinots. It was very attractive though, quite captivating as it opened up in the glass with all those perfumy fruit and flower notes. The palate took on the same tones as the nose - sweet red berries, honeyed red dates, and a rather unusual finish that showed more spice and rubber hints, but also a rather inexplicable caramel and nougat flavour. There it was, clear as day. All of us recognized it as nougat, but no one could quite remember tasting something similar in any other pinot before. There was a lot of power and concentration, but I thought the acidity was not as vivid nor chiselled as the Bass Phillip Premium no the same flight, so that came almost as a looser, slightly sluttier, more immediately revealing type of wine. Neverthless, it was fun, expressive, pretty well-balanced. A good wine, just not sure it is worth its entry price.

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• 2007 Gerhard Markowitsch Pinot Noir Reserve 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Carnuntum

  This was very good. It was less immediately pleasing as the first two wines on the flight, but really started growing in stature in the time I nursed it in the glass. The nose was very tight at first. Earth, a bit of toast, sweet spices, dark fruit notes, mushrooms, truffles - but all this really needed to be coaxed out. With time, the more savoury scents were met with a touch of cola, sweet red fruit and flowers. I was struggling to tell whether this was a Burg or from somewhere else. The palate had a tremendous attack. Again, a bit tight, almost quiet compared to the louder expressions of the new world pair at the start, but there was a whole lot of presence to the wine. Savoury earth at first, subtle notes across the front-end, and then it opens up beautifully into a mid-palate of dark cherries and sweeter red fruit that showed a lovely weight and heft. Unfortunately, it fell a bit hollow and seemed to lack some depth beyond that, so that the longish finish showed somef bittersweet vine stems and a lot of fine-grained tannins. This gave the wine a great sense of structure, but it felt just a bit empty at the back-end. If not for that, this would have been a remarkable wine. Nevertheless, really nice stuff. A real surprise when I found out it was an Austrian Spatburgunder - a theme that would follow us over the next two flights as well.

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• 2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 93 Points

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

  Excellent. This was clearly the DRC in the blind pack, but I could not quite place it as a La Tache. It was a very good wine, but with some three quarters of the table professing to be a bit underwhelmed, one could say that this was a victim both of its extreme youth and the super-high expectation connected to the vineyard. This had a clearly Burgundian, whole cluster nose - a real telltale sign. Chinese herbs, angelica root, wolfberries, earth, burnt toasty rubber notes, and some stewy, soupy red dates. Intriguing rather than attractive at the moment. The palate, on the other hand had tons going on, with great depth to its rich, sweet dark fruit notes and lots of nascent complexity with savoury orange peel notes, a touch of bittersweet herbs and ginseng and brambly whole cluster accents - a mouthfull of flavour coming together in a complex, ethereal whole. There was plenty of power, but the balance was so good that you barely noticed the concentration and weight here as the wine moved into a deep finish that had lots of length and persistence. This was the most interesting wine of the flight for sure, but it needs lots and lots of time still to come together and open up. At the moment, lots of complex going-ons, but just not enough integration or charm. To be entirely fair, I thought the Felton Road Block 3 and the Bass Phillip Premium were not far behind at this point of the wines' evolution, but the La Tache should be far longer lived.

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• 2007 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 94 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  Another clearly new world wine - we even spotted this as a Central Otago. It was absolutely superb though, one of the very best new world pinots I have had to date, just pipped to the post by the stupendous Bass Phillip Reserve. In fact, quite a few people on the table, Burg drinkers and all, rated this over the rather grumpy 2007 DRC La Tache on the same flight. This had a glorious nose - wood spice, truffle, stir-fried shitake mushrooms, oyster sauce, a touch of new world rubber and vine stems, dark cherry fruit, all lifted and lovely with a savoury, umami undercurrant that I really liked. The palate was extremely impressive as well. It had lovely earth notes, spice, a touch of Chinese herbs, and some wonderfully sappy dark cherry fruit. A really broad spectrum of flavours, all wrapped in a supple structure with velvety tannins providing some grip and while it was maybe just a tad too soft on the acidity, it was really quite decent on the balance and always nicely focused. The long, lingering finish was at once open and generous as well as complex and multifaceted, with, spice, stems and fresh juicy fruit playing away at the back-palate. A brilliant accomplishment. True to its terroir, yet superbly accomplished. I am not sure how this will age in the long-term, but it should a tremendous amount of pleasure in 5-6 years.

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• 2006 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 94 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  An absolutely beautiful wine. It was super expressive on the nose with briny dirty martini hints, sarsaparilla scents, dark cherries, fresh cut flowers, all intensely perfumed,with a toss of earth and hint of oak hanging at the back of the bouquet. Lovely stuff. One sip then, and I just could not help taking another, and another and another. The wine was just ridiculously delicious with is slinky, silky tannins, perfectly integrated acidity, and wonderful elegant red cherry fruit, all juicy, sappy and just downright yummy. It was still clearly very young and not ultra-complex in the mouth, but there was lots of interest to go along with its seductive qualities, especially towards the long, lingering finish, where there were lots of beautiful florals, creeping notes of mineral and some orange peel. The wine was all but gone before I knew it. Hard to be objective about this - the other wines in the flight might have had more stuffing or more complexity, but this was just such a beautiful drink. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

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• 2005 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Monogram 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  A good wine, but in the context of this tasting it was one of the weakest of the lot. Again, this stood out as an Oregon, especially on the nose where there were candied cherry scents, almost cough mixture and aniseed-like, and then some burnt rubber, a rim of savoury earthiness and toasty coffee notes from the oak. I did not like it much at this point. Thankfully, the palate was rather better. Nice and fresh on the attack, it had a lovely depth to its cherry fruit flavours, which were nicely integrated with a velvety mouthfeel integration underpinned by a nice juiciness. This needs lots of time in the cellar yet. In spite of its balance, structure and a nice sense of intensity it came across as rather narrow and one-note on the palate. Again, another good but way too expensive Domaine Serene that stood out as the weakest wine in its flight.

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• 2006 Gerhard Markowitsch Pinot Noir Reserve 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Carnuntum

  Blind tastings tend to throw up surprises every now and then, and this was certainly one of them. It was easily the equal of several much more expensive wines in the flight. The nose was a bit tight at first - some toasty notes, lovely nuances of mushroom, earth, sous bois, even a bit of roasted chestnut and then some soupy fruit notes that were quite reminiscent of the DRCs in the tasting. It was all slightly muted, but I really liked the low-toned bassy notes on the bouquet. With some time, it opened up even more to show a flowery accent to go alongside the earthy tones. Lovely. The palate had that same slightly soupy fruit, rich red berry flavours alongside slightly brighter sour cherries - nice integrated flavours wed to soft, silky tannins and a great sense of balance. Nice length too. This was lovely without being showy - just delicious.

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• 2007 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Premium 89 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Gippsland

  Oh dear, this stuck out, not in a very good way unfortunately. It was a decent wine, but in the context of a tasting of the world's best pinots, it really seemed liked a t-shirt and jeans guy in a black-tie event. The nose was quite intriguing - new world burnt rubber, wild bramble, wet soil, cooked fruit, canned tomatoes and lots of flowers all playing alongside rooty Chinese herbs scents. There was even a whiff of Leng Yong (shaved antelope antlers in there). The palate was interesting. Fresh, well balanced, with flavours of sour cherry, more tomato stew, a clear lapsang souchong tea note on the midpalate and then an unusually salty finish that had a twist of bramble and then some rusty mineral all the way to the end. Unusual flavours aside, it just did not come together well, with slightly disjointed parts sticking out here and there. All in all, it was a decent drink, very interesting, but not great.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 95 Points

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

  Wow. Still young, still a bit in its shell, but even then this was clearly the best wine in a tasting full of incredible pinots. Quite clearly the DRC in the flight, but I thought it might have been the La Tache given its incredible nose - with sweet spice aromas, dark fruits, especially black cherries, and then just that hint of bramble and oriental spices, anise, and a touch of oak, and some flowers - all coming together in a complex, intriguing melange, with all sorts of deep and mysterious notes drfiting out of the glass. A nose that really called for your full attention. The palate was probably the most complete of any of the 15 wines we had as well. It had beautiful depth, super fine tannins and fresh juicy acidity, all integrated together with deeply-wound flavours of dark cherries, a bit of cherry syrup, orange peel and dried fig skin nuances against a whole backdrop of more savoury uamami notes, almost like Hoi Sin sauce and roast duck in there. So complex, with tons going on. There was an overtly intellectual aspect to the wine on the first sip, but a hidden joy that started to show itself as we sipped on. Classy, feminine, playful, vibrant - yet with a real serious core. I loved this wine. I can only imagine what a tremendous drink it will be in say, a decade or more. Finally, a DRC showing its class here. This was head and shoulders above the other wines in a very strong flight.

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• 2002 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Monogram 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  This was the first wine in what was probably the most consistently strong flight of the tasting, but again it stood out as the weakest link. A good enough wine in its own right, but it paled in comparison with the other 4 that came after it. I must say that quite a few people in the table enjoyed it, but it was not quite to my taste. The nose was rich, liquered, with plenty of glycerol and melted cherries along with hints of secondary green herb and mushroom scents pointing to its age. It was all rather too unsubtle, a punch in the face variety as opposed to the gentle perfume of the other wines. The palate was similarly rich, but there was thankfully less alcohol than on the nose. It was still a bit liquered though, kirsch I thought, together with a some bittersweet stems towards the end. Lots of power, but decent balance aside, it was all a bit monolithic and in-your-face. Kinda enjoyable in small doses in a heady, not too intellectual way, but not something I would be craving to drink.

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• 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  This was a star of an Echezeaux. Cloudy in the glass, it had the wildest, most clearly whole cluster nose of the three DRCs, all toasty Chinese herbs, angelica root, wild wood spices and meat alongside sweet red cherries and some beautiful floral notes. Lovely - reminded me ever so much of one of Domaine Leroy's downgraded 2004 wines. The palate was complex and intriguing and really elegant for its terroir. There was a fresh, brightness to its red fruit expression, more wood spice, all warm and earthy, and infused with tea and that herbal essence that I picked up on the nose. There was great presence on the mid-palate and then a long, haunting finish with floating floral notes filling the mouth. I can so see how this wine would have been awkward and ungainly in its earlier years, fine tannins were still making their presence felt with a touch of firmness even now, but this is certainly maturing quickly with the promise of a stunning adulthood ahead. The most forward of the three DRCs, I can see this slowly entering into its drinking window in the next couple of years.

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• 2003 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Reserve 95 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Gippsland

  I was privileged to drink this before, but the intervening years after the last bottle has taken the wine to another level. It was brilliant - the was the strongest wine in its flight, and one of the best wines of the night alongside a luminous 2006 DRC Romanee St-Vivant. It was clearly a step-up from the Bass Phillip premiums in the first two flights. The nose had very nice with notes of Char Siew (Chinese BBQ'ed meat), red cherries, wood spice, a bit of oak, earth and toast. Complex stuff. It was the palate that really blew my mind though. Rich, but nicely balanced, it had easily Grand Cru depth and concentration with lovely, lush red cherries and strawberries filling the mouth alongside sweet spice, a meaty bass note and a touch of toast and bramble right at the finish. Yet for all that, it was neither the depth of flavours or the concentrated intensity that really marked out the wine's brilliance, but more the resonance of the fruit, its purity and sense of transperancy - a resonance and purity that only shows up in the very best Burgundy Grand Crus, and even then only in the hands of the best producers. A longish finish, sweet spices and a touch of stems rounded the wine off. This wine is complete, and yet there is a clear sense that there is so much left in its tank, with firm tannins and fresh acid still giving a sense of youthful structure. I wrote that this was the best Aussie pinot I have ever had the last time I tasted it. Scratch that - this is quite without peer amongst any of the new world pinots I have yet tasted.

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• 2004 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 93 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  The oldest of the trio of Felton Road Block 3. This was a lovely wine, but somehow one got the feel that it did not quite hit the tremendous heights of the younger wines in the first two flights. Nevertheless, this was still an excellent wine. It had an enchanting nose of flowers, red cherries, gentle herbs and just a light hint of rubber. Beautiful stuff. The palate was a touch sweet to my taste, but it did have a delicious expression of juicy red fruit wed to clean acidity and nice round tannins. Lots of depth here. The finish was just as yummy as the rest of the wine, with more of that lovely fruit and then some spice and bramble. This very much bore the hallmarks that the other Block 3 wines showed - delicious and approachable without being simple. Lovely stuff.

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• 2004 Gerhard Markowitsch Pinot Noir Reserve 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Carnuntum

  These Markowitsch Spatburgunders were really good stuff, not for once looking out of place amidst a line-up of the best pinots from around the world. This particular wine was perhaps the least impressive of the three Markowitsch reserve pinots on show, but it was still a very well made wine with lots to enjoy. The nose was very nice - toast, coffee, red fruit, ripe stems, really interesting. The palate was rich and round, with bright cherries and berries layered over a nice, velvety midpalate. A bit on the sweet side, rather simpler than the other wines in the flight, but there was a nice firmness and great balance leading into a lovely long finish with a nice core of minerality. Really enjoyable.

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