Got together with the Maharajah as he generously opened this beautiful bottle of 78 Rousseau Chambertin. Fill and color were gorgeous. I pitched in with my meager offering of Mesnil and Roulot (in comparison to the Rousseau that is). Finished the night with the 08 Cristal that a buddy brought in.
G was fretting that he should have given me the bottle weeks ago to keep in my cellar to stand up. He had stood it up for 3 weeks but the day of the dinner he had to go to two different office locations before dinner and was afraid of the fine sediment shaking up.W When he got to dinner, the bottle had been shaken up a little by a crazy uber drive, but it quickly settled down and was ruby clear in the glass.
I forgot my Durand at home as I was rushing to dinner. The restaurant had a cheapo $1 corkscrew. Slowly but surely I pulled out a beautiful soft cork and was treated to my red wine of the year and officially on my top 5 of all time list.
Still have 1/3rd of the Roulot left (put a Repour on it and popped it into the fridge) and 1/2 of the Cristal. Will finish it up tonight at my friend’s house and update notes!
1978 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru (8/3/2018)
A perfect specimen. Great bright ruby red color, strong fill. A beautiful cork that came out with the restaurant’s $1 corkscrew ⠀⠀
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Over the course of 3-4 hour dinner the wine kept growing and expanding, adding small but impactful changes with every new fresh pour. On the last pour the wine was at its apex.
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A glorious nose unmatched by anything my meager senses have smelled in a wine. The perfume is cool and present, a mirepoix of fresh strawberries, young oolong jade dragon tea leaves picked by a blind man on a Taiwanese mountainside, the most fragrant pepper spice on this side of the Silk Road, and the very end as the lingering notes finish traveling up it hits you with the Gevry- a slice of meat sprinkled with fresh chopped mint leaves. I’m clearly exaggerating for effect, but this wine seriously had the most incredible nose I’ve had the opportunity to try. It was perfect, just the right amount of everything. For the first 30 minutes we opened the bottle, I hadn’t yet tasted the wine but I had probably smelled it a good 7-8 times.
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Lest we forget the palate. The fruit is red, lingering and sappy. It’s ever present on the palate as you smack your lips. The purity of the fruit and complete integration of all tannin allows the wine to glide. The wine isn’t broad or full scale like some of the other big boy 78s (la tache is on the other spectrum, full bodied and forceful) , it’s about the elegance and focus. But the most intensity memorable part of this wine is the finish. It leaves a finish as long as Ron Jeremy on a blue pill, it is shocking how powerful and lingering the finish is. Savory notes of roast meaty earth and red fruit completely dot the palate. I had drank a sip when Steve walked into the restaurant and we were talking and pouring wine when I realized a minute in that I could still taste the wine. It left such a powerful impression on the palate.
1996 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Luchets- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (8/3/2018)
Love the nose on these 96 and older Roulot. That flint and big dollop of citrus and mint. A less obvious version of the nose that Coche was famous for. Loads of fresh bright acidity on the wine, lemon custard and saline. Very clear and precise fruit. These 96 Roulots are in a class of their own, from the lieu dits up to the incredible Perrieres.
1996 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil- France, Champagne (8/3/2018)
When first popped the intensity on this wine is almost overbearing. On the power/acid scale it is a 15 on a scale of 1-10. It just eviscerates the palate with it’s sheer force of fruit and acid. Waves of rich white fruit hit. This bottle was even more youthful and intense than the one tasted in June. Needed a full hour to settle down and reign in that pony. The mousse is crystal fine and that dazzling acidity paired with the same strength of minerality dances on the tongue. The lemon note on the acid just pulls the finish. I had taken one big gulp to finish off the bottle prior to leaving the restaurant, a few minutes in I was still smacking my lips from that taste. I think potentially it’ll take over the 88 Mesnil as the top wine in the Krug Mesnil stable for me.
2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut- France, Champagne (8/3/2018)
the most acid driven Cristal I’ve had. But still has a lot of the template of ripe orchard fruit of Cristal. Right up there with the 02 which was a little more full bodied on the release. I’m surprised by how easy it is to drink right now. Much more obvious and forthcoming than the 08 CDG I had a month ago, which was a mousse spice laden champagne still growing.
A great wine dinner, the motivation to cellar great wines, achieving the maturity that so many winos seek the world over. Rousseau, truly one of the “GREATS” in Burgundy! Your thoughts on the future development of the 2008 Cristal?
The 1996 Roulot-Les Luchets review by Stephen Tanzer, dated September 1998:
Very fresh, complex aromas of spice, mint, lime, flowers, pear and earth. Flavor of ripe pear given delineation and cut by harmonious, ripe acids. Consistent and dense in the mouth, with a long, ripe aftertaste. Lovely balance. This shows very good texture today, perhaps due to the later bottling. Finishing flavor of grapefruit leaves the palate refreshed.
Stephen Tanzer Rating 90. Sep 1998
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