August 17, 2023 - I don’t love DRC ech. With age. When young. When in the middle. It just doesn’t really hit the buttons for me. Especially at the price now.
I remember when it was $1000 a btl on secondary and I was shocked ppl were paying that much. Now I’m triply shocked.
When young the oak is overbearing. With 30+ years of age the fruit doesn’t outlast the structure (in general not as an absolute of course). In the mid term it doesn’t have the breadth of complexity of its siblings.
BUTTTTT. This 2012 was very nice. Drc oak stemmy spice and sweet cherry were very fragrant and powerful. One of those particularly alluring perfumes that are so intense it overshadows the palate. It’s not that the taste was bad - it wasn’t it. It was a touch closed. But still quit quaffable. Just the nose was so nice you didn’t even need to drink the wine to enjoy it.
July 9, 2023 - Light to medium body. Some nice iron and gamey flavors mixed with complex deep fruit. Nice finish. Expected more!
September 4, 2022 - Compared to the great 2012 Romanee-Conti tasting in Frankfurt/Main in February 2020, the wine has made a recognizable evolution. The tannins seem less polished, they have become sandier. The fruit is less cool and cherry; ripe strawberry flavors with a good dose of spicy, peppery notes, sois bois. Medium+ acidity, balanced, medium length. 92/100
August 6, 2022 - dust on nose initially. needs time. primary profiles. nice bright energy from the red fruit. Long juicy. got potential but needs more time. feels a bit awkward now.
August 6, 2022 - Delicious red fruit, although perhaps slightly more awkward than it was 2-3 years ago. Needs 2-3 hours of air minimum. (11061/12695)
May 6, 2022 - Sweetly floral and fresh aromatics. Balanced succulent palate, just delicious. (9805/12695)
December 24, 2021 - Exuberant violet aromatics with polish. Sleek, glossy, intense, sweet, dark red fruit palate. (9804/12695)
October 25, 2021 - A private dinner (Restaurant d'Oude Schuur, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium): Marvellous black fruit and Vosne spice, cool but ripe, so expressive and generous, orange zest, beautiful freshness, quickly develops a hint of undergrowth, firm but finely grained tannins, excellent resonance and length. Does not achieve the clarity of expression of the Rousseau Clos de Beze 2014 which accompanied it.
June 17, 2021 - Wine Diner (Ada St): While primary, this is flat out delicious. So much stem and Vosne spice intermixed with silky, concentrated black cherry. Should improve but so fun now.
June 17, 2021 - "Drink it while it's delicious" (Chicago, IL): #2449. Although it's not like I go around drinking tons of DRC, this nose smells exactly like what DRC ought to -- stems, black fruit, and tons of spice. The nose opened up over the course of the few hours of dinner, but it was less a question of how its profile changed and more about how much broader it became. The palate is silky and intense and seems to emphasize structure; the fruit plays a bit of a second fiddle here. The spice profile is quite distinct and mesmerizing; it's the most compelling feature of this bottle.