The Boardl Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown
Tasted Saturday, June 7, 2014 by dcwino with 1,514 views
There is a story behind this incredible dinner. I got into a heated discussion regarding the possible 04 like taints in the 11s. Jon F, Don C and I decided to organize the 11 Burgundy tasting. Jon F quickly planned a family trip to DC and Don C decided to join in. I figure it would be nice to show a warm DCWINO welcome and I contacted the usual suspects. Since Jon F’s time in DC was limited and we didn’t coordinate the 11s much, the 11 tasting was postponed, actually more like cancelled, and we were left with the Jon and Don welcoming dinner. Although it seemed improbable, we enthusiastically agreed on the theme, “La Tache”
All of us contributed a bottle of La Tache plus another special bottle and it has quickly become an embarrassment of riches. Since it would be wonderful to include the 90 La Tache, we cost shared.
The original intent was to have eight participants but since this was a very special dinner, we ended up with eleven. As usual, we worked closely with the chef Jacob Esko and the food and beverage manager, Will Rentschler to create a ten course tasting menu to complement the great wines. They did a great job as all the dishes were nicely flavored but none overpowered the wines.
We were seated at the spacious board room in the basement. The room temperature was set at 60 degree for the first two to three hours and the wines showed extremely well.
For me, the best way to serve red Burgundy is over a small dinner, maximum of six but four is even better. IMO, it tends to require for more attention and time as there is no other wine that is more nuance driven. Having said that, it was an incredible evening and perhaps the wines being La Tache, they showed magnificently. I am not about to deny the event being over the top, a bacchanalian debauchery. However we all had incredible time and were keenly aware how privileged we were.
A number of bottles were already shipped to my house a couple weeks ahead and I left the bottles standing for a few days. I drove back home and retrieve the bottles right before heading to the restaurant. I and JC arrived a couple hours early to prep the wines. The room was already at sixty degrees and all the bottles were very cool to touch. Since we anticipated that the dinner will last long, we decided to open the bottles at 6 PM. We just opened the 08 Batard and the 11 Chevalier and took small pours of each and headed to the rooftop.
These were pleasantly accessible. We were joined by a few more guests. It is always fun to compare these two. They are not as perfectly precise as they once were but I am kinda liking them with a bit more roundness as well.
We returned to the dining room and proceeded with three oldest bottles of La Tache. We thought it would make sense to serve them before the whites as we had no clue how they would show. When looking the bottles through a light, the 50 and 53 were clear and bright where the 69 was a bit cloudy despite left standing for a few days. It was not a major concern as I have had a lot of bottles of cloudy Burgundy that showed very well. The 50 was incredibly delicious and very much alive. Most thought the 53 was DOA with VA/Madeira and much preferred the 69. I was the only one who liked the 53 better as the wine became really nice and lively with air, caveat.
We served the wines ourselves. We poured about 2 oz per person in one serving. The 50, 53 and 69 definitely showed significant sediments and the early pours were definitely more expressive. The others had a very little issue and the first and the last were almost identical.
It was a great privilege to drink these wines. The 92 Leflaive Batard is the best example I had. The Coche was incredible and the 89 Carillon is the most concentrated white Burgundy of my life.
I recently sourced the 85 for a friend but it showed noticeable TCA taint. The contrast between the 88 and the 89 were very interesting and educational.
These three once again showed the greatness of La Tache as they were all expressive and complex. I thought the 95 was most ready, the 96 still needs a lot of time.
I really enjoyed the 93 but the 90 was mindboggling and the 05 was perfect. The 05 being at the nine year old mark, I am not sure whether this will ever shutdown hard. The last flight and the best flight for sure.
After the eight course, we decided to head up to the rooftop to enjoy the weather and drink the rest, including the 02 Salon and the 89, 90 and 01 D'Yquem. At this point, I stopped taking notes and enjoyed a couple stogies. For me, it was a ten hour dinner but I have enjoyed every minute of it. There was absolutely no pretension or stuffiness. We were fully aware how incredibly lucky we are to be a part of this incredible dinner. Jon and Don fit right in with DCWINOS.
Certainly it was an over the top dinner but we all had once in a lifetime experience. FWIW, I took the notes and partially spitted up to the last flight of La Tache. No doubt that the wines were incredibly special but hanging with a bunch of fellows made this truly once in a lifetime dinner.
At the end of the dinner, we scribbled on the labels to prevent reuse.
2011 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Upon on opening, a bit of the 04 taint but it could be easily taken as a bit of green/pyrazine. With air, much less so and very Chevalier. Fresh white fruit driven nose, pear, slightly unripe white peach, white flowers, honeysuckle, delicate sweet and spicy spices, wax and cool mountain stream. Medium body, quite delicate, once again fresh white driven palate impression and nice seamless finish. Jon mentions being a bit tight and I have to agree, a very young chevalier. If I were to be stickler, there is a hint of green and not the most concentrated and energetic Chevalier especially considering the domaine.
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2008 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
The color is golden which is surprising. Very ripe intense yellow fruit profile, a hint of burn caramel, honey, mineral and orange skin oil. Exceptional concentration, sweet and very ripe honey and yellow fruit driven palate impression, very good acidity and long finish. This is dense, mineral and masculine as one expects from a batard. Despite displaying exceptional mineral expression and being masculine, very ripe fruit flavor profile makes the wine not too precise. Knowing the premox issue at the domaine, I wonder how this will evolve. Drinking nicely but seems a bit more mature than I would have expected.
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