1990 Burgundy Week

Lou Rittenhouse and his wife Nilla generously provided a bottle of 1990 Dujac Clos St. Denis, so we got together for a dinner and some other wines to go with it. Served with various Dutch cheeses (aged Gouda, blue Gouda) and French cheeses (Tomas Fine), poulet avec quarante gousses d'ail, and puree of celery root, this was a rare treat indeed.

• 2002 Maison Albert Bichot Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir Domaine Long-Depaquit

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Pale yellow with just the slightest trace of green. The nose of flinty rock dust, citrus, and peach gradually emerges with time in the glass. In the mouth, slightly subdued at first, but this wine fattens up nicely with time, seeming to become both fuller and more expressive as the mouthfeel becomes more oily in texture. Not quite as powerful or as intensely flavored as a 2002 Fevre Vaudesir tried recently, still this wine seems to deliver the Grand Cru finesse we expect from the vineyard and the year. Should improve nicely with bottle age.

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• 1990 Domaine Dujac Clos Saint-Denis

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

  My oh my!! What a banquet of the senses with this wine. In the glass, this wine shows a garnet red color, deceptively light to medium bodied in appearance based on its transparency. Immediately upon opening the bottle and pouring into the glass, rich, even extravagant aromas of bright cherry liqueur assail the nose. This wine dwarfs the nose on the 1993 P. Damoy Chambertin Clos de Beze, which was tasted earlier and showed a very nice nose until set beside the Dujac. In the mouth, the banquet continues, with a bright attack of sweet red fruit extract that coats the palate, so viscous that it refuses to be washed away. The mouthfeel really is extraordinary on this one, with the ripe syrupy extract seeming to have an uncanny ability to attack the pores and taste receptors on the palate. The light to medium body based on the visual appearance turns out to be deceptive, because this wine packs a punch. The balance of sweet ripe fruit, acidity, and residual tannins is extraordinary, allowing the wine to convey an impression of both power, finesse, and complexity. With time in the glass, the cherry bouquet subsides a bit, and an even more compelling, ethereal nose emerges that is to die for, with a slightly stemmy quality that suggests olives or tapenade, and notes of leather and rock dust. The wine finishes with great complexity, with no let up from the palate or the nose. A rare treat!

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• 1993 Pierre Damoy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Opened 1/2 hour before pouring, no decanting. Ruby red in appearance, this wine immediately delivers impressive aromas of ripe cherry, even before the glass is raised to the nose. The nose becomes more complex with time, developing mineral notes and damp underbrush. In the mouth, equally impressive concentration and structure convey a sense that this wine still has the ability to improve substantially with more bottle age, although the first signs of maturity are beginning to appear. The tannins are still prominent in this wine, conveying a slightly drying quality on the finish, but there is no doubt in my mind that the ripe fruit is there in sufficient quantity to balance and outlast these. Finally, a suave and complex wine with excellent overall balance. Best 87 point wine I have ever tasted.

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• 1999 Château Rieussec

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Bright gold in color, this wine is a good follow-on to the Burgundies with its powerful nose of peach, honey, and nuts and its superb syrupy, super-concentrated character on the palate. The richness of the fruit and botrytis along with impressive levels of acidity suggest this should be really great in ten years or so. Missing now only the additional complexity and mystery that bottle age brings.

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Some great wines all the way. The Dujac is really an experience, so pale and "light" in color, but such intense flavors. And the 1993 Damoy Chambertin-Clos de Beze is drinking beautifully as well.