Domaine de la Romanee Conti Dinner - ATL Thursday

WINE TALK
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Thursday several of us got together for a dinner featuring the wines of Domaine de la Romanee Conti at the Four Seasons Atlanta. The dinner and savoring was organized by “The Legend”.

Here are my comments on the wines. The food was fabulous but two dishes stood out. A wonderful farm raised Salmon-Trout dish with the Montrachet and a transcendental squab dish with forbidden rice that I can still taste today. Robert Gerstenecker from the Four Seasons put together a really nice menu to compliment these wines.


Appetizer Wine

1996 Billecart Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hillare
A wonderful champagne. Very young. Lots of citrus at this point. No oxidative notes. Beautifully balanced and long on the finish. A baby. Delicious.


1st Course Salmon Trout

1995 DRC Montrachet
This one opens with a very slight oxidative character. This goes away with time. Rich very light caramel on the nose but that focuses with an hour or more into a very complex nose. Some citrus notes balance the package at that point. Loaded with mineral character. Rich in the mouth but light on its feet. The finish improves exponentially with time. Still a baby.


2nd Course Squab with Forbidden Rice

1983 DRC Grands Echezeaux
Wow! What an incredible nose. That peacocks tail type of complexity that just keeps unfolding. Very beautiful fresh fruit with lots of complex elements. Difficult to describe. This to me is DRC. The palate is starting to develop that tea character. The fruit is fading a little but the finish is explosive and lingering. 100 points for the nose. Worth the whole tasting just to smell this.

1989 DRC Richebourg

Much younger nose. The nose needs some aeration. A rich mix of fruit and spice. That really sexy spice that just takes you over. The palate here is full and powerful. The finish is lithe and VERY long. This is a Grand Cru that is just starting to hit the good spot. Extraordinary.

1992 DRC La Tache

The nose here is a complex mix of herbal elements and fruit. This is a much more herbal nose that I assume is vintage driven. Gorgeous and effusive. The palate is nicely balanced and shows that special length. This is such a great effort for what was probably a difficult red year.



3rd Course - Duck

1998 DRCS

Echezeaux

This wine has a nice nose of darker fruit and tea spice. The palate shows an excellent balance with no hair out of place. It is a very nice wine.

RSV

WOW! This is my kind of wine. The nose is that very sexy red/black fruit wrapped in spice. At once ethereal but with some power behind it. This palate is downright amazing. Young and still concentrated at this point. There is a burst of complexity on the end with a flourish of spice that just takes you over. Profound and special.

Richebourg

This one had some brettanomyces taint. This is a very good wine but I couldn’t get past the brett.



4th Course - Veal


1999 DRC Vosne-Romanee 1er Duvault-Blochet
The nose is sexy. Red/black fruit. This one is open for business. Great volume and excellent finishing complexity. This is fantastic.

1999 DRC Echezeaux

This one is wound up to me. Great red black fruit. More power and potential than the 1er. Long finish.


2004 DRC La Tache

Wow! This so sexy and powerful at the same time. The nose is red fruited with lots of spice and hint of herbs. The palate is powerful and complex. The finish is very special. Young and this will be A+ with some aging. DRC killed 04.

1996 DRC Richebourg

This wine is so gorgeous. The nose is developing that peacock tail of complexity. Layer upon layer. The palate is beautiful but constricted somewhat by the acidity of the vintage. The finish is powerful and extremely long. Fantastic! Thanks John for this extra treat. Very special.



5th Course – Cheese Epoisses etc.

1982 Domaine Delagrange-Bachelet Le Montrachet

OMG! The nose is perfect. Crystalline golden fruit wrapped in a very special kind of truffle note. Perfect White Burgundy. The palate is at once very full but dances. The finishing complexity goes on forever. This is “a pointe” Le Montrachet. As good as it gets for this vineyard. (Although I had a taste of 1985 DRC Montrachet that would give this a good run and probably prove to be a little better.)

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Don, thanks for sharing, but I’m afraid I hate you just a little bit right now. Envy can be an ugly thing . . .

It’s disturbing that, though I’ve had a number of incredible meals at the Four Seasons, because Park 75 is a hotel restaurant, I and too many others tend to overlook it when thinking about the best dining spots in Atlanta, so I appreciate the reminder. Robert is really sensational and gets far less recognition than he deserves.

For large groups, I’ve found that the Four Seasons banquet dining is on a different plane than anywhere else in town, including the Ritz Buckhead and 103 West.

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Don,

That seals it. I have to fly through Atlanta this summer on the way to the beach!

Dan

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Mike,
It has been too long. I will have to rectify that.

Dan,
Drop by any time!

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What an evening! Thanks for the write-up!

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Great notes Don! I love that '95 Monty :slight_smile:. Shared a mag of the '83 DRC GE last night - 100% agree with your note. Wish you were here in SF though!

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Great notes Don! It sounds like it was a great evening. Good work. Those old Montys are to die for…

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Great notes as always Don.

Favre,

When can I see notes on tonight’s dinner ?

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Enjoy the Paulee guys! Wished I didn’t have to work this one.

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Don,

Thank you for taking notes. Such a great evening of wines and I was very happy to be able to share in all of these great wines. This doesn’t happen often enough!

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great notes don. love the fact that DRC did well in 2004. definitely a small group of producers that did wonderful things in 2004. loved seeing the pics on facebook, too! y’all drink well in atlanta.

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Had a bottle of this a few years ago…probably the greatest Montrachet I have ever had, even over the many DRC Montys we’ve seen.

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had the 04 DRC Richebourg twice in a week and the LT, too, recently. No green that I could find. Very nice wines.

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Great line up and notes Don. Thanks for sharing. I need to open something serious soon. Cheers Mike

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You just need to come to Atlanta so I can pay back your hospitality when I was in New Zealand. I hope all is well.

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Wow. Looks like a really fun dinner Don! Thanks for posting your notes. They are always quite evocative & a great read.

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God bless our ATL brethren! So glad to read about this night on multiple platforms and the photos are terrific. I was once underwhelmed by the 04 LT, glad to hear it has brightened considerably.

One day I’ll have a 4-S stay in my old hometown.

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Don,

In regards to the 1996 Richebourg, did it seem to be close to maturity? I am not long on DRC’s but do have a few bottles of this wine. Your comment about the constricted palate and the acidity is my concern. Also was the wine decanted? Opened how long before it was tasted?

Thanks,

Daniel

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Daniel,

The wine was popped and poured.
It is at the very early point of being mature. Great nose.

The palate shows like a 96 to me. All 96s I have tasted are quite linear compared with many other years due to the acidity. I don’t find it the least bit objectionable but if you are looking for a giant palate presence like a 1989 or 1990, it is just not that kind of wine. I think it would have benefited from some slow ox but it was a last minute entry. Hope this helps. It was an extremely delicious wine.

Hopefully Michael and John will chime in with their thoughts too.

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Don,
Thanks for the great notes. I also really loved the 04 La Tache.

Like Paul, I love the 82 DB Montrachet. Perhaps my score is a bit too low, ie not knowing the wine.

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