Vosne-Romanee Grand Cru and Premier Cru Dinner

Kevin Restaurant, Chicago IL
Tasted Monday, July 17, 2006 by Burgundy Al with 524 views

Introduction

The Chicago Burgundy tasting group (the Lieu-dit Cru) got together last night at the restaurant Kevin. Our theme was Grand Cru and high-end 1er Cru from Vosne-Romanee, and we had a nice 26-year range of vintages. All wines were tasted blind.

Once again the food at Kevin worked nicely with our Burgundies. Big eye tuna was great with the whites, and everything worked well with the reds. A good time was had by all.

Flight 1 - White Burgundy (2 Notes)

  • 1995 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 88 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Tasted blind. This won’t be getting any better. Lean fruit, wine shows a bit too much oak and alcohol. Definitely a modern style wine. Short finish. Clearly not damaged like some other mid-90’s white Burgundies, but nobody was racing out to buy this wine.

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  • 1995 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Tasted blind. Richer and more dense than the first wine, clearly a better wine. Slight signs of fat buttery flavors along with good fruit, perhaps grapefruit. OK minerality, OK acidity, moderate finish. Probably not one to age much longer either.

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Flight 2 - Mid-Aged Premier Cru (3 Notes)

  • 1989 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Served single blind. Lush fruit with lots of spice, highlighting its Vosne origin from the moment it was smelled.Great balance of primary and secondary character, which was impressive vs. many 1989s which haven't held up this well. Flavors of red and black cherry, complemented by an elegant sweetness (from vintage and integrated oak?) on the finish. Very alluring.

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  • 1988 Domaine René Engel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Brulées 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Served single blind. Light red fruit on nose and palate. Well balanced, ready to drink. Quite elegant, particularly on the finish. I was quite surprised to see this was a 1988 given the subtle acidity and tannins. While I'm a big fan of the vintage, most of the wines from ’88 are more brawny.

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  • 1990 Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Tasted single blind. Very good fruit, mostly showing black cherry with some red cherry character. Still very primary. Lots of Asian spice working so nicely with the fruit. I think there is upside potential as this develops more earthy charm. Nicely balanced now, i think the finish will lengthen with more time. Nice to try with its far more advanced, but equally interesting, 1987 counterpart.

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Flight 3 - Older Red Burgundy (2 Notes)

Flight 4 - Top Red Burgundy (3 Notes)

  • 1995 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

    Tasted single blind. Muted fruit aromas with modest spice. Seems more shut down that anything. Similar on palate with good concentration and density, just everything hidden behind fairly assertive structure. Better 2010-2025 with upside.

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  • 1996 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Tasted single blind.Bright red fruit with massive acidity, which helped some of us guess the vintage. Completely hidden fruit behind tons of structure. Great spice on finish. Give this another decade or more. Everybody agreed we would like this a lot…someday - but it was providing little pleasure last night. Give it 10+ years.

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  • 2002 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

    Blind tasting. Ripe, lush fruit on nose, palate. Starts with red and black cherry plus baking spice. Ends with more powerful black fruit also accompanied by sweet spice. Excellent overall balance already. I was very surprised to see this from 2002 when unveiled, given how forward and open this came across today. Very excited to see where this develops over the next 20 years.

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