a true treat to get to try this, thanks to SW and his generosity. potent nose of honey and quince ; the glass remained strongly smelling this way long after the contents were consumed. mouth- butterscotch, butter croissant, white peach, poached pear. delicious.
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M&PD tasting dinner at Vendemmia. Thanks to the generosity of Captain JVNK, we had four 2004 Ramonets blind. Well, we knew there was a 2004 Monty and a 2004 Benny because we bought them as a group; but JVNK feathered in two of his own bottles and what a wild ride it was . . .
The line-up (in order):
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes Montrachet Bâtard-Montrachet
The notes (and surprises):
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
Winner on the night. This wine was perfect with the classic Ramonet spearmint and perfect balance and concentration. This wine just lit up the mouth. I don't know how you improve upon this. (100 pts)
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes
IMHO, this was the second-best bottle of the night. It surprised me greatly bc I thought this was either the Batard or maybe even the Montrachet. It had the Ramonet spearmint and all the complexity. In retrospect, it tasted like the Benny, but with the volume turned down to, say, 7. Or maybe the last glass of the Benny after having it all to yourself. ;-) (97 pts)
Montrachet
I thought both the Montrachet and the Batard were Chablis (keep in mind we didn't know they were all Ramonets). I guessed Raveneau because it had strong mineral and saline notes while still being full-bodied. No spearmint, no explosion in the mouth. I never would have guessed a Ramonty. Still better than 90% of wines out there. It had a nice long finish, but not necessarily complex. I think it was the weakest wine of the night, which is why blind tasting is so interesting and important. (92 pts)
Bâtard-Montrachet
More complex than the Montrachet throughout vertical. Probably lighter in the mouth than the Montrachet, but a stronger nose and more aggressive citrus, salt and mineral throughout vertical - really lingers in mouth. Thought it was Dauvissat due to citrus and salt. (94 pts)
If you've made it this far, maybe you'll let me ponder a bit: The first two wines were JVNK's and in his cellar since release. The last two were K&L auction bottles that we cellared for roughly three years. Could it be that the auction bottles that get traded around the world end up losing some of their integrity? Probably. It would be really fun to reenact this with Domaine bottles. Jean-Claude, lmk if you're interested. ;-)
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M&PD Tasting: France (Seattle, WA, USA): Lots of guesses here, some thinking Raveneau. Round, mineral, not *quite* right, savory, quite deep, but with a little hint of caramel. Slightly disappointing once we knew what it was, but it was certainly delicious nonetheless.
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Ramonet Montrachet Lunch (Phoenix, AZ USA): Exceptional balance, some tropical notes. Surprised on the reveal this was drinking much younger than I would have expected for '04. Well stored bottles like this could easily keep improving for a decade.
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This is in a great spot where it's showing appropriate levels of development with lightly honeyed fruit but retains great freshness. Montrachet class and power.
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Holiday Burgundy Lunch (Scottsdale, AZ): Unreal purity, mesmerizing. Chiseled mineral with a looooooong finish of honey, fruit, and this ethereal quality Ramonet sometimes has -- like drinking liquid diamonds.
This is one of the all time great white Burgundy wines, sadly my last bottle.
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Holiday Burgundy Lunch - Rousseau, Leroy, DRC, Ramonet, d'Auvenay (Scottsdale, Arizona USA): A majestic wine in every respect. So polished, incredibly complex, mile long finish. This wine has many layers and demands total concentration. Greenish gold color suggests plenty of life left in this stunner. One of my all time favorite white Burgundy wines, a well stored bottle of this will haunt you...
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Grands Echezeaux: Served blind and the aroma had everyone under its spell. Flowers and an ethereal “something” that beckons. Palate was less giving than the aroma and when it was revealed we learned why. This magnificent wine deserves to be followed for hours. Majestic and we are just scratching the surface.
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This wine was stellar tonight but I don't think its built to last. drink in the next 4-5 years. it was opened 6 hours early and in full bloom and blew the 04 Bouchard away tonight
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Burg als comment in Jan is spot on. It was served to me blind. I called it a 00 ramonet batard because of the ramonet oak and spearmint on the nose, the richness and intensity on the palate. Palate is ripe and intense with many layers. At this point, the gap between 04 ramonet batard and montrachet is small. Its very complex and the acidity floods your palate with more air. Needs lots of time to develop the montrachet layer.
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The wine of the night. Gorgeous nose of white flowers, toast, smoke, white peach and citrus. It is layered and really builds in the mouth. Flavours stain the palate and it finishes with great cut. It has phenomenal detail and length.
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From magnum served blind. Considerably better than the '05 to my taste, this had deep structure, intense purity, lovely enticing nose, and in all respects came across as a regal Montrachet. Superb!
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Some sulphur on the nose, looooooooong finish. Very powerful. Served blind, but I still guessed this correctly it's just too massive to be anything else. A superstar wine.
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LaTâche Lunch with a Ramonet Starter (Binkley's - Phoenix AZ): Served single blind in Ramonet 2004 flight. Ripe and intense from the start, showing lots of ripeness and concentration. Powerful, while also elegantly balanced. Richness mistakenly made me think a great bottle of Batard.
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Leroy Dinner at Binkley's (Phoenix, AZ): Mile long finish, dreamily floating across the palate with such precision and grace. This is "it" - the holy grail of white Burgundy - even over the stellar Leroy wines. Highest recommendation.
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A spectacular bottle of wine. The nose is fine but complex with aromas of spearmint, butter, white peach, aniseed and custard. In the mouth it is texture with outstanding purity of fruit and just a hint of honey development rounding off the fruit. There are some cooler floral and mineral things that come to the fore with air. It builds through the palate and has great cut. The finish drives on and on.
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2nd Most Epic Burgundy Dinner (Boulevard - San Francisco CA): Served blind in what turned out to be Coche CC and Ramonet Montrachet flight. All open several hours before serving. Ripe fruit with some mint and nutty hints. Subtle and nuanced, but slightly less exceptional vs another bottle from a few months ago.
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Elegant, white flowers, mint, mineral. My white wine of the tasting and the group's - against some very serious competition. So much evolution in the glass, the last sip was creamy and heavenly.
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Ramonet Montrachet and Leroy Dinner (goosefoot - Chicago IL): Lots of ripe apple and pear start-to-finish with some marzipan hints. Summer flowers with wintergreen, clove aromas. This is all about elegance, balance and refinement. Great energy and structure perfectly complements the fruit and spice. Very close, but this was my WOTN.
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Really high intensity on the nose. Ripe yellow fruit, spice, melted brown butter, roasted hazelnuts, wet tree and wet wool. Insanely high concentration of flavour on the palate and a finish that just keeps on lasting for hours.
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Definitely has the Ramonet spearmint thing going on. This is a rich, heady Montrachet that envelops the nostrils with ripe fruit and smoky mineral smells and stains the palate with sappy orchard fruits. It is mouthfilling, has good precision and really fans out on the finish. Drinking really well right now.
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6/25/2022 - soyhead wrote:
a true treat to get to try this, thanks to SW and his generosity.
potent nose of honey and quince ; the glass remained strongly smelling this way long after the contents were consumed.
mouth- butterscotch, butter croissant, white peach, poached pear. delicious.
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1/27/2022 - Brolawa wrote: 92 Points
M&PD tasting dinner at Vendemmia. Thanks to the generosity of Captain JVNK, we had four 2004 Ramonets blind. Well, we knew there was a 2004 Monty and a 2004 Benny because we bought them as a group; but JVNK feathered in two of his own bottles and what a wild ride it was . . .
The line-up (in order):
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes
Montrachet
Bâtard-Montrachet
The notes (and surprises):
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
Winner on the night. This wine was perfect with the classic Ramonet spearmint and perfect balance and concentration. This wine just lit up the mouth. I don't know how you improve upon this. (100 pts)
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes
IMHO, this was the second-best bottle of the night. It surprised me greatly bc I thought this was either the Batard or maybe even the Montrachet. It had the Ramonet spearmint and all the complexity. In retrospect, it tasted like the Benny, but with the volume turned down to, say, 7. Or maybe the last glass of the Benny after having it all to yourself. ;-) (97 pts)
Montrachet
I thought both the Montrachet and the Batard were Chablis (keep in mind we didn't know they were all Ramonets). I guessed Raveneau because it had strong mineral and saline notes while still being full-bodied. No spearmint, no explosion in the mouth. I never would have guessed a Ramonty. Still better than 90% of wines out there. It had a nice long finish, but not necessarily complex. I think it was the weakest wine of the night, which is why blind tasting is so interesting and important. (92 pts)
Bâtard-Montrachet
More complex than the Montrachet throughout vertical. Probably lighter in the mouth than the Montrachet, but a stronger nose and more aggressive citrus, salt and mineral throughout vertical - really lingers in mouth. Thought it was Dauvissat due to citrus and salt. (94 pts)
If you've made it this far, maybe you'll let me ponder a bit: The first two wines were JVNK's and in his cellar since release. The last two were K&L auction bottles that we cellared for roughly three years. Could it be that the auction bottles that get traded around the world end up losing some of their integrity? Probably. It would be really fun to reenact this with Domaine bottles. Jean-Claude, lmk if you're interested. ;-)
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1/27/2022 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Tasting: France (Seattle, WA, USA): Lots of guesses here, some thinking Raveneau. Round, mineral, not *quite* right, savory, quite deep, but with a little hint of caramel. Slightly disappointing once we knew what it was, but it was certainly delicious nonetheless.
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10/5/2021 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Tasting: Italy (Mount Baker, Seattle, WA): No notes, just recording for posterity. Wow, wow, wow!
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7/30/2021 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Ramonet Montrachet Lunch (Phoenix, AZ USA): Exceptional balance, some tropical notes. Surprised on the reveal this was drinking much younger than I would have expected for '04. Well stored bottles like this could easily keep improving for a decade.
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7/10/2021 - bill00 wrote: 95 Points
This is in a great spot where it's showing appropriate levels of development with lightly honeyed fruit but retains great freshness. Montrachet class and power.
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12/20/2019 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Holiday Burgundy Lunch (Scottsdale, AZ): Unreal purity, mesmerizing. Chiseled mineral with a looooooong finish of honey, fruit, and this ethereal quality Ramonet sometimes has -- like drinking liquid diamonds.
This is one of the all time great white Burgundy wines, sadly my last bottle.
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3/9/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
La Paulée de New York Gala Dinner (Pier Sixty - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. Rich now, incredibly balanced now. So much substance and nuance unfolding in my limited 3/4 ounce pour.
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12/21/2018 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Holiday Burgundy Lunch - Rousseau, Leroy, DRC, Ramonet, d'Auvenay (Scottsdale, Arizona USA): A majestic wine in every respect. So polished, incredibly complex, mile long finish. This wine has many layers and demands total concentration. Greenish gold color suggests plenty of life left in this stunner. One of my all time favorite white Burgundy wines, a well stored bottle of this will haunt you...
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10/26/2018 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Grands Echezeaux: Served blind and the aroma had everyone under its spell. Flowers and an ethereal “something” that beckons. Palate was less giving than the aroma and when it was revealed we learned why. This magnificent wine deserves to be followed for hours. Majestic and we are just scratching the surface.
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10/8/2018 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Curnonsky dinner. Wine of the night. Smells remind of great Leflaive. Some vanilla, oak plus fruit. Cracking, viscous mouth filling. Stunner.
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12/23/2017 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Holy Moly this is my jam, precise pretty looooooooooooooong -- this is like drinking a diamond 💎
'99 and '04 are same level of quality, but I prefer the lightness and clarity of '04 tonight.
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12/15/2017 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Light and preposterously long finish. This monster finish lasts indefinitely, and is utterly weightless floating incredible. Classic and brilliant.
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10/26/2017 - ricknat1 wrote: 94 Points
This wine was stellar tonight but I don't think its built to last. drink in the next 4-5 years. it was opened 6 hours early and in full bloom and blew the 04 Bouchard away tonight
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9/26/2017 - etyc Likes this wine:
2004 Monty theme'd dinner @ Iggy's.
TBU...
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6/21/2017 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
Burg als comment in Jan is spot on. It was served to me blind. I called it a 00 ramonet batard because of the ramonet oak and spearmint on the nose, the richness and intensity on the palate. Palate is ripe and intense with many layers. At this point, the gap between 04 ramonet batard and montrachet is small. Its very complex and the acidity floods your palate with more air. Needs lots of time to develop the montrachet layer.
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3/13/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
The wine of the night. Gorgeous nose of white flowers, toast, smoke, white peach and citrus. It is layered and really builds in the mouth. Flavours stain the palate and it finishes with great cut. It has phenomenal detail and length.
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2/24/2017 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
From magnum served blind. Considerably better than the '05 to my taste, this had deep structure, intense purity, lovely enticing nose, and in all respects came across as a regal Montrachet. Superb!
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2/24/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
A 40th Birthday Celebration, Dinner Edition (Atlas Bistro - Scottsdale AZ): Magnum. Served single blind alongside the 2005. Wonderfully floral. Lots of apple and pear, with mint and savory spice. Very good length, great harmony, near perfect balance.
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1/27/2017 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Some sulphur on the nose, looooooooong finish. Very powerful. Served blind, but I still guessed this correctly it's just too massive to be anything else. A superstar wine.
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1/27/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
LaTâche Lunch with a Ramonet Starter (Binkley's - Phoenix AZ): Served single blind in Ramonet 2004 flight. Ripe and intense from the start, showing lots of ripeness and concentration. Powerful, while also elegantly balanced. Richness mistakenly made me think a great bottle of Batard.
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12/22/2016 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Leroy Dinner at Binkley's (Phoenix, AZ): Mile long finish, dreamily floating across the palate with such precision and grace. This is "it" - the holy grail of white Burgundy - even over the stellar Leroy wines. Highest recommendation.
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10/7/2016 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
A spectacular bottle of wine. The nose is fine but complex with aromas of spearmint, butter, white peach, aniseed and custard. In the mouth it is texture with outstanding purity of fruit and just a hint of honey development rounding off the fruit. There are some cooler floral and mineral things that come to the fore with air. It builds through the palate and has great cut. The finish drives on and on.
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3/2/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
2nd Most Epic Burgundy Dinner (Boulevard - San Francisco CA): Served blind in what turned out to be Coche CC and Ramonet Montrachet flight. All open several hours before serving. Ripe fruit with some mint and nutty hints. Subtle and nuanced, but slightly less exceptional vs another bottle from a few months ago.
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12/11/2015 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Elegant, white flowers, mint, mineral. My white wine of the tasting and the group's - against some very serious competition. So much evolution in the glass, the last sip was creamy and heavenly.
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12/10/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
Ramonet Montrachet and Leroy Dinner (goosefoot - Chicago IL): Lots of ripe apple and pear start-to-finish with some marzipan hints. Summer flowers with wintergreen, clove aromas. This is all about elegance, balance and refinement. Great energy and structure perfectly complements the fruit and spice. Very close, but this was my WOTN.
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11/8/2014 - Bobhelge wrote:
Really high intensity on the nose. Ripe yellow fruit, spice, melted brown butter, roasted hazelnuts, wet tree and wet wool. Insanely high concentration of flavour on the palate and a finish that just keeps on lasting for hours.
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6/10/2014 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Definitely has the Ramonet spearmint thing going on. This is a rich, heady Montrachet that envelops the nostrils with ripe fruit and smoky mineral smells and stains the palate with sappy orchard fruits. It is mouthfilling, has good precision and really fans out on the finish. Drinking really well right now.
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2/14/2012 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Had a lovely cool fruit feel with an engaging aroma of mint, mineral and spice. It was rich with plenty of energy and had great cut to the finish
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