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Richebourg and RSV dinner at Ripple
Ripple Restaurant in DC
Tasted December 19, 2013 by dcwino with 669 views
Introduction
Since Tom and Adam will be out of town for our holiday dinner, we gathered to drink Richebourg and RSV. It was not an academic exercise of comparing the vineyards. Although the wines showed very well, they were in a pretty tight range and none stood out as memorable. The wine service at Ripple was exceptional and the dishes were solid.
Flight 1 - Starters (4 notes)
White
1994 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée
flawed
Madeirized nose. Ample fruits and bright acidity. Will this re-emerge? I doubt it. If you love Chateau Chalon, this may be enjoyable as the flavor profile is very similar.
White
2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
93 points
Starts a bit coiled, very Chablis with slightly austere expression as the fruit is shy. Saline, chalk, a hint of flowers, lemon and honey. With air, lovely floral note and more fruits. Lose the primary fruits, quite precise and cool. Excellent concentration and precision, nicely layered and good balance. I lovely Raveneau as the wines always reenergizes me so vibrant and cool.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
94 points
A hint of smoke, perfume, almond paste, honey, tarte tatin, limestone and anise. Medium concentration, sweet fruit expression, mineral and good acidity. Quite harmonious and nicely balanced. My impression is that this is ready to go with a hint of matured yellow fruits. If you are a Selosse fan, your rating may be a bit higher than mine.
White
2000 Morey-Blanc Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
92 points
Youthful color. Sancerre like lanoline note, quite precise and cool, lime and wet stone. Linear and cool palate impression, medium concentration, very mineral like licking a wet stone, bright acidity and long finish. Good complexity coming from cellaring. Cool and linear wine.
Flight 2 - Old Richebourg (1 note)
Red
1961 C Marey & Liger-Belair Richebourg
flawed
Strong VA, mostly sous bois, some dry red fruits, caramel and chanterelles in cream. Medium body, dense jammy fruits and good length. Not madeirized but strong VA note. I would love to taster the bottle from a cold cellar.
Flight 3 - Arnous and Confuron RSVs (3 notes)
Red
1990 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant
96 points
Expressive yet precise nose displaying beautiful red fruits, strawberries, flowers, violet, caramel , sweet spices and earth. Medium concentration, beautifully layered fruits, silky and long finish. Compare to the 90 Confuron RSV, this seems more precise and polished. Lovely wine.
Red
1990 Jean-Jacques Confuron Romanée St. Vivant
94 points
Very ripe nose of jammy dark fruits, noticeably minty which I get from very ripe Burgundy. Good concentration, ripe jammy fruit expression and good length. Still quite youthful. For me this is a hedonistic but a bit chunky wine. Very 1990, I whole heartedly agree with DRWINE2001.
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Red
1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant
95 points
This once again reminded me the 96 Leroy. Beautiful ripe red and black fruits, raspberry, baking spices, caramel, mushroom and earth. This bottle shows a bit more sous bois than the last bottle from the same batch. Excellent concentration, sweet fruits and lovely finish. This is a big scale, ripe wine with nicely layered fruits that still shows good balance and precision.
Flight 4 - Anne Gros and Cathiard (2 notes)
Red
1998 Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg
95 points
Very polished nose displaying beautifully layered red fruits, raspberry and cherry, flowers, sweet delicate spices, tree bark and earth. Delicate and polished palate, nicely layered fresh and vibrant fruit expression, good acidity, nicely integrated tannins and long finish. This is a very pretty wine that nicely expresses the terroir. Perhaps a Richebourg version of Le Musigny.
Red
2007 Sylvain Cathiard Romanée St. Vivant
95 points
Lovely fresh sweet red fruits, fresh cherry, cherry liquor, lactic, butter, mint, a hint of oak, sweet spices and mushroom. Excellent concentration, unctuous almost oily, sweet jammy fruits, good acidity, nicely integrated tannins and long finish. Pretty impressive weight especially considering the vintage. Excellent fresh sweet fruits.
Flight 5 - Stickies (2 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Château d'Yquem
95 points
Another half bottle from the same batch. Once again, slightly more mature perhaps due to the format. Dry apricot, light caramel, nutmeg and creme brulee. For me, D’Yquem is all about the texture. Incredible density yet so airy, intense yet light. Lovely showing. Definitely preferred the palate (97 pts) to the nose (93 pts).
White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Trockenbeerenauslese
95 points
Intense nose displaying dry apricots, dry peaches, black tea, mint, sweet spices. Unctuous palate with extremely sweet intense fruits. Piercing acidity keeps the wine fresh and precise. Not sure whether this will get better. Drinking beautifully.
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Closing
Another wonderful dinner with good friends!