Dinner last weekend as part of an epic week or so of wines (and fun)…
Will try and post as much as I can between work commitments.
2002 Sauzet Montrachet:
Corked!! My first corked wine for a while, but my last two Montrachet’s have been: 1) Oxidized, and now 2) Corked!! And not just corked, but really corked!! Damn…
N/R.
2001 Boillot Montrachet:
Wow. Bang from the start. Simply glorious wine. Fine, floral, with a touch of spice. Very, very long and extremely wide on the palate, with lovely texture, and a subtle sneaky sort of power. Not a big bruiser Montrachet, but just so layered and complex. One of the great white Burgundies I have had, and also one of the highest scoring. When this produce is on, the wines are right up there. Easily the highlight wine of the night…
96pts.
1998 Rousseau Chambertin - Clos de Beze:
Earthy, spicy and gamey notes, with some forward ripe fruit. Soft and accessible, big and round in the mouth, this wine is ready to go, though will hold. A really pleasant drink, but not great.
91/2pts.
1998 DRC Romanee Saint Vivant:
Seemed a bit rustic upon opening, and the nose never soared like most DRC RSV’s do. Opened up somewhat to reveal spicy ripe dark fruits and some forest floor gamey notes, but just wasn’t a sexy wine. Good, but not better, and a slight disappointment.
91pts.
2007 DRC Romanee Saint Vivant:
This wine now meant we had tried every DRC RSV in the last 10 years (1998 – 2007) in the last 18 months, so I feel as if I have a good handle on the wines now. Wow, very underwhelming…I know this is young, but this was a big disappointment. The ’06’s took some time in bottle to put on weight, and I have no doubt this is what this is doing, but still, I just can’t see this as being great. Ever. Looked like high end domestic pinot, with a slightly hot and spicy palate, but was very one dimensional, a simple wine and not particularly charming as we thought it might be. My first really serious ’07, and I’d have to say it doesn’t bode well for the vintage if this wine is any guide…Also showing far less well than the ’05 and ’06 did at the same stage. For the record, my fave. DRC RSV’s of this period are (in order) the ’05, ’99, ’01 and ’06. These 4 wines are a significant step ahead of the rest…
89?pts.
Your note on the 07 RSV sounds exactly like the 00 La Tache on release, very simple and ‘New Worldy’. DRC in the more elegant vintage really don’t seem to show a lot on release but 5+ years down the track is another story.
I’ve had a few DRCs that give a similar impression, too. The thing about DRC is that they are a pretty late picker so you do often get some candied/New World characteristics. It’s safe to bet the terroir will eventually come out, although I have to admit I’ve had a couple that had retained the sensation long after the point you’d think they would have kicked it.
This is why I am cautiously optimistic on 2007 DRCs- I did buy Montrachet and will post a TN soon, but in reds I only bought Richebourg and will taste it for myself before going after others.
I too had the 2000 La Tache at release- found it amazing on the nose but shockingly light on the palate. So I sold the rest of my stash- failed to remember the lesson of the 1992s which came out beautifully for the most part (Romanee St. Vivant being an especially charming midweight beauty after about 5 years.)
Paul- how was the nose on the 2007 RSV? This, I think, may be the best clue to the future at this stage. Body will often come with time, but the nose does not lie in my opinion. Like you, I have tried to make a point of trying some DRC young in every vintage- and 1997 is really the only flawed vintage I have ever come across, though the wines are better than most 97s. Even 1994 and 1981 have their place at the table under certain circumstances. Fingers crossed for 2007, at least on the reds- Montrachet should be a no-brainer knockout with few peers.
Great notes on some pretty special wines.
That '01 Boillot Montrachet is really something. Our tasting notes are humorously similar (both even starting with ‘Wow’). Wish I’d loaded up when I saw this at a “reasonable” price.
The one time I had the '98 DRC RSV it was disappointing and probably a bad bottle.
2001 Henri Boillot Montrachet- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru (2/2/2010) Groundhog Day!: Wow, one smell puts a smile on your face. Huge nose dominated by tropical fruit with some minerality. Each smell brings new nuance and another smile. On the palate this delivers rich, exuberant, buttery fruit but with perfect weight, awesome texture, perfect balance, great acidity and a knock-out finish. I’m a bit of a Montrachet newbie, but if this is any indication I need to be seeking these out more frequently. (96 pts.)
I drank the entire '00 DRC line up on release, and I must say, yes I can see where you and Jeremy are coming from.
What I would say here is that the '07 was certainly far less impressive than the '05 and '06 on release, so in that aspect it was disappointing, as we have seen the great steps this wine has made in recent years.
Tom,
The nose was certainly quite muted, and not with the usual soaring RSV spice and violet notes you associate with this wine. Yes, it needs a lot more time, no doubting that, but still, left us a bit flat. We did leave it and check on it through the course of a long dinner, and 3 hours later it still hadn’t changed…
BTW, I also have a bottle of '07 DRC Montrachet, but I’m saving that…I imagine that will be a spectacular wine, so would love to see some notes…
Didn’t see this note before, but great palates obviously taste alike…
This bottle was actually from my friends case (of which I have 2 bottles). I remember when he opened the first bottle (badly pre moxed…), and told me he nearly dumped the lot in disappointment.
Since then they have all been fine and happily are all great. A great wine for sure.
Thanks for the notes Paul.
FWIW, I found that a recent '07 DRC RSV gained a lot with air. I think it was one the better wines of the vintage, but this is not a great vintage. With the stratospheric release prices and mediocre quality of the 2007s, I cannot make an economic argument for purchasing these especially since the (superior) 2000s are cheaper and 7 years more mature…
We poured many of the 2000 DRCs in July 2007 and I thought they were spectacular (the RSV was corked).
I wonder if I hit the '02 La Tache at a similar awkward stage, because after tasting it (against the '99) I would have sold every bottle I owned.
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru (7/31/2007) Kitchen Tasting Group Tribute to Brad England (La Belle Vie): Best nose of the night among some very stiff competition! An awesome expression of red fruit, asian spice, mushroom, cinamon, mineral, and one other descriptor I can’t read (sorry). Great expressiveness and some complexity on the nose despite its youth. Very fun. On the palate this delivers concentrated deep fruit in a medium bodied wine that has an endearing lightness about it. Somewhat tannic, but not obtrusive at this point. I can’t see how this could fail to develop into an even more spectacular wine with additional bottle age. (97 pts.)
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru (7/31/2007) Kitchen Tasting Group Tribute to Brad England (La Belle Vie): The intense and expressive nose offers an exotic melange of deep red fruit, mushroom, earth,lilac, and dried flowers. Already showing complexity despite its boisterous youthfullness. Really impressive. The red fruit still dominates the almost primary taste. A touch of oak is discernable. This has great balance, just enough tannic structure, and finishes with a persistence and deeply satisfying finish. This is a great showing for this wine tonight (wish I had a few more bottles). (95 pts.)
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru (7/31/2007) Kitchen Tasting Group Tribute to Brad England (La Belle Vie): I loved this wine. The nose was an epiphany – redolent of deep, dark liquor-like cherry, mushroom, and asian spice. Oh so expressive. Awesome. The taste may not have been quite up to the level of the nose, but offered a great dark fruit and mushroom combination. Excellent balance with plenty of acidity. Tannins are dusty and obscure the finish a bit. I would hold these for at least five years before opening again. Spectacular! (94 pts.)
Thanks for the notes Paul. I would not want to judge the 07 DRC RSV at this age, perhaps you have a palate demanding a little more material, I quite like a lighter wine on occasion as long as it has persistance and I expect the RSV would have had this?
To be honest Mike, it wasn’t long at all. If I was blinded on this and told it was, say, $50 Kiwi Pinot instead of a $1,000 wine, I would not have been one bit surprised…
I will agree it is hard to judge a wine such as this at this age, and it can change in a short period of time, which is why we will examine
it again when we do the rest of the '07 DRC’s late in the year, and perhaps get a better read on it then.
BTW, one of my dining companions had the '07 La Tache and both '07 Rousseau Chambertin and Beze last week, and wasn’t particularly
impressed with any of them, except to say the La Tache wasn’t too bad…
I am still optimistic (I bought a lot of 07’s, daughters birth year…), so will wait until later in the year when we open a serious lot before I make a real call.
In the meantime, there is still hope…and at least the whites are great…
