August 7, 2022 - Great wine. Beautiful old Burgundy. Red fruit at the core soy and asian spices predominate. This wine and the 55 Lafite were the wines of the night
March 7, 2020 - La Paulee 2020 - Gala Dinner (Pier 60): Dried tea leaves, herbs, aging rather well surprisingly. 93-94
November 24, 2019 - Nose reduced to the essence of pinot berry with an interesting tertiary aroma of preserved medicinals and pressed flowers. Fading but still present fruit on the palate, salty and tart, gaining in density and weight with each sip. My guess is that this wine is past its prime, but the echos of that prime are still present. Sweetness emerges as the palate adjusts. What a wonderful opportunity to observe a wine in graceful later age. Impossible to rate, really, because the present is not the past.
December 1, 2018 - Ken's 60th Birthday (Smyth - Chicago, IL): Likely a fake as determined Burgundy Al and others. I thought this was a reasonably pleasant Vosne with aged but still fresh fruit, clay and spice. High 80s showing.
December 1, 2018 - Ken's 60th Birthday (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Served in an early 1970s DRC flight, I saw at least two aspects of the 1970 La Tâche label I considered questionable, so asked another dinner attendee to take a look. Clear consensus is that it was not likely actuall yLa Tâche. Then we looked at this bottle of 1970 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, which was purchased at the same auction ten years ago (!) by a different dinner attendee, and too many of the incorrect elements were also there.
This was a completely enjoyable older Burgundy, likely even from Vosne-Romanée, but unlikely it was DRC, not showing any of the rich, spice-driven character, even given its age and the challenges of the vintage.
December 1, 2018 - Nice Fred floral edge, earthy nice dark fruit. Solid yet not a lot of nuance here.
August 21, 2018 - Good stuff but a slight bacterial taint on the surface. Would have otherwise said 93-94
March 16, 2018 - DRC Richebourg vertical. Pale. Well into downslope with some oxidation and touch of raisins. (9984/17825)
June 22, 2014 - I had low expectations of this bottle, given that the level was a little low at 4 c.m., but this was a pleasant surprise. Nose was a little floral at first, with a little leather and animal notes, and definitely a little acidity on the palate. Opened up more after 30 minutes, showing very lovely fruit and a little more sweetness. Very elegant and lovely.
October 23, 2012 - Pale red color, but after a few minutes in the glass, started to brighten a bit. Very aromatic nose of spicy ripe berries and a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. Very fine and smooth palate and while this is not going to improve any more, well stored bottles or especially magnums of this wine should hold for at least 5 more years. Nice surprise!