AK's birthday dinner

A generous birthday dinner by AK who brought his A-game. Unfortunately the two big hitters were most people’s favourite, I was hoping for an underdog victory. Even split between the DRC and Leroy, with honourable mentions to the H-N and Arnoux.

• 1997 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  From magnum. Pristine, elegant and focused, much more expressive in the Sensory than the restaurant white wine glass. Unlike the ‘99 a few weeks back which was tight, this was approachable without showing any oxidative and nutty notes. Rich without weight, high acidity that made the wine less sweet than I expected. One of the most memorable champagnes that I've had, up there with the '02 Clos du Mesnil from the same friend.

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

Onto the reds - task was to guess the appellation from the first pair, as the eight wines were from the same plot. Guesses ranged from Chambertin to Vosne 1ers but I was reasonably confident about RSV. Plenty of Vosne silk and spice; richness without weight that could only come with a GC.

• 2005 Nicolas Potel Romanée St. Vivant 92 Points

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

  Loads of luxurious, perhaps unintegrated oak on the nose. Palate was perhaps a little more candied and less finessed than the others but still had seamless bright red cherry fruit. Some ‘05 drying tannins.

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

• 1996 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant 93 Points

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

  Some sweet red fruit laced with a little liquorice, quite resolved with some tea leaves after some time in the glass. Delicate and understated (maybe underpowered to some) as with most Drouhins, but I always love this producer for their elegance and balance.

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

After the appellation was settled, the only things left to guess for each pair were the vintage and producer. For me the second flight was very strong, and could have gone head to head with some of the bigger names in the latter half of the tasting.

• 2004 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points

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

  Had an intoxicating, wild and floral nose of strawberries and forest floor that reminded me of the Rouget I had last week. Palate was not quite as put together but didn’t have the ‘04 greenness. Quite old-school and masculine but this has benefited from age, seamless and at peak now. Agreed with someone who said this must be ‘04 Arnoux, based on the superb ‘04 Suchots I had last year from the same friend. Joint third on the night for me.

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

• 2002 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Romanée St. Vivant 93 Points

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

  Vibrant, sweet cherry fruit that should have pointed me towards '02 (but guessed '09). Good restraint for the warm vintage, still very youthful. A more powerful rendition of RSV compared to the other producers. My first time trying their RSV and definitely stood its own against the bigger names.

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

Two big names but I felt the second flight was stronger until the DRC pulled ahead with air. Cathiard was a little monolithic and unready, though some liked it.

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

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

  Thought this was a little anonymous at first, perhaps too restrained and light for its own good. Got better in the glass as the DRC stemmy spice came through, red fruit became more expressive and the palate turned into pure silk. A very complete wine in terms of depth and texture, one of my wines of the year.

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

• 2006 Sylvain Cathiard Romanée St. Vivant 92 Points

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

  We were supposed to guess which was the DRC from this pair, some guessed this as the DRC because this was showing better at the start but no doubt in my mind this was a more masculine maker like Cathiard. Large-scaled with sweet, overt red fruit, some mint and greenness that made me think ‘11. Quite monolithic and unready despite its obvious potential, think this would have done better with much more air.

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

We identified the last two wines even without tasting them, the only two big-hitter RSVs left were H-N and Leroy.

• 2008 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant 95 Points

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

  Clearly H-N with pretty, dreamy red fruit with a little rusticity. High acidity made it obvious that this was ‘08. To me H-N is one of the makers that is easily identifiable blind; always so perfumed, elegant, and sensuous. Texture was soft and silky, my second of the night as it just missed the layered depth of the DRC.

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

• 2008 Domaine Leroy Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points

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

  Always a treat to have a red capsule Leroy, never mind a RSV. Fantastic intensity on the nose with five spice and potpourri, loved the complexity on the palate with ripe, succulent dark red fruit. Incredible depth but the layers didn’t quite come together as a coherent package. I didn’t have a chance to revisit but apparently this got better with air. Joint third for me on the night.

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