It was perfect, I am gonna have a slice here in a minute.
Eileen got the recipe from old 17th century Normandy and modified it with a few things.
3 Likes
Now that youāve mastered Burnt Basque Cheesecakeā¦ 
2 Likes
E says sheāll write it up for you
Overview
This evening was a brainstorm by Michael as a way of doing something special. At our last get together in January for a Burgundy Study we pondered what our illustrious friend (now entering his mid-80s) was still curious to try for a future Burgundy Study. Michael did a lot of legwork to engineer this Unique Horizontal. I pitched in where I could, and we managed a very relaxed Saturday all together.
This was one of the most Intellectual Burgundy studies I have ever done. And I donāt mean that necessarily in a qualitative way (positive or negative). These wines have a lot of layers; these wines are very singular in how they present; they are very disparate (despite their tremendous proximity and uniformity of producer); they are genuinely quite complex & layered.
The 2022 Bienvenues-Batard Dinner in Atlanta will always be a benchmark as a Deep, Thoughtful Burgundy moment in my life. That afternoon/evening serves as a demarcation point in my Burgundy journey. Itās where I met Michael, in fact, alongside Brad, Favre, and Lustig. It had Andrew, Don, Fred, and Mike Evans. It was a real moment of Burgundy in my life. One can draw a line, so to speak, between that dinner and these lunches/dinners/voyages these past 4 years. The combination of joy & study really elevated my horizons/training/approach to Burgundy.
I wouldnāt want to necessarily say that a lineup like this weekendās 2007 Horizontal requires several years of preparation. But, it helps. Thereās a lot to think about & contextualize in this lineup.
1996 Salon
Thankfully, a stunning example of the vintage. Iām often a touch hard in my evaluation as to this house. Not to be pedantic, but simply because I think that Salon needs a lot going perfectly for it to really sing. And that an advanced bottle or a tight bottle struggles to fire for special enjoyment (more so than other Big Houses).
[Authorās Interlude: Michael & I got a little side-eye in NY at lunch two weeks ago when we paired '13 CdC with the '13 Salon. He and I were in the minority at the table, but we find the tightly wound/structure-emphasizing Salon a very even, thoughtful comparison with the more harmoniously accessible Comtes. This is a little Inside Baseball, but I think itās because Michael & I have a much different relationship to White Burgundy than the Atlanta Crew. We view āstructuredā chardonnay a little differently. These palate quirks intrigue me.]
This 1996 was one of the two best bottles of Salon I have ever had (alongside a 1990 last October with Michael & others). The 1990 was more stately, subtle, and finely poised in a mature/harmonious way. This weekendās 1996 had so much verve & enormous joy. As Michael already outlined.
Beautiful size and freshness. A little tight & coiled upon opening, but as it unfurled in the glass over each 20 minutes it gained in viscosity and mid-palate complexity. Powerful Chardonnay features & purity. Plenty of power that left a effervescence on the teeth & developed light mid-palate savory notes blended with the blancs de blancs mature citrus & minerals. All held together with fresh, youthful power.
A special example of a Legendary Wine
2007 DRC Romanee-St. Vivant
The first wine poured. I ended up focusing on this wine exclusively for the first hour (as the Richeboug wasnāt accessible early on). A very intriguing wine.
Lots of fresh strawberry on the nose. Maybe a touch of Rhubarb. And then immediately linking into the mid-palate with the full Bramblepatch. Lots of cluster, stem, and medium-earth on the mid-palate. Lots of energy, too. However, I found the ratio of energy on the Aromatics to be asymmetrical to the rest of the wine (and its non-lightweight structure).
I felt this wine was very joyous but needed a top-up every 30 minutes to keep its shape & full flavor. The verve on this wine included a lot of structure surging through its mid-palate & finish. A pretty wine, and a wine worthy of thoughtful exploration for a few hours. A different tier to the two best wines on the table.
2007 DRC Richebourg
A very difficult wine for me to evaluate. Needed a legit 3+ hours Decant. And by the end of the evening the aromatics were very dark licorice/dark earth rather than the strawberry, other red fruits, and teas of its table brethern.
Also, by the end of the evening I was also enjoying an unlisted, backyard Morey St. Denis that was much lighter & aromatically joyous. This Richebourg remained simply a touch too brooding for me. No idea if bottle variation will reveal different wine experiences for other tastings. Or how 10 years will shape this wine.
2007 DRC La Tache
Pretty Stunning.
The truism you hear from others with more experiences like these cross-vineyard Horizontals is that when a La Tache is really on song & beautiful you spend a lot of time talking up the other wines to make it a closer, more even Burgundy Study 
This has joyous power. Beautiful red fruits, and some very lovely, voluptuous Venison loin meat juices on the aromatics. Alongside plenty of Asian spices. Kept very restrained & perfectly in balance by its structure. No tannic bite at the end, so the finish is straightforward and polishing off the exotic, exquisite harmony of the Aromatics & mid-palate of this wine.
Legit. A wine that you could fall in love with whether you had a relatively newly developed palate or have been drinking Burgundy for decades.
2007 DRC Romanee-Conti
A wine of great harmony & intellectual quality.
Not hedonistic on the nose. No immense power of florals or red/dark fruits leaping from the glass. Instead, thereās a lot of rolled tea & gentle aromatics. And the more one sits & trains the nose on this style, the more that tea really unwinds and blossoms into increasing largesse. A beautiful wine to follow for a few hours.
I loved how well-made I found this wine to be. Very delicate in its structure, very rounded mouthfeel. Frankly, more āpremier cruā in weight than its tablemates. Which, I use as a compliment here.
As an analogy, I do think this wine has a bit of a celebrated foreign-film quality. Itās not an obvious wine, itās quiet, and it will help if youāre in the headspace & timeframe to really ponder its themes. I donāt think thatās sentimental groupthink; Iām certainly not writing it as such.
Iām glad to have his wine in such a Horizontal form. And with many hours to think on what it is trying to do (and what itās achieving to do) in its singularity. Itās a really beautiful wine. Itās fascinating that the volume of this wine is so different compared to La Tache, and that itās harmony is very long-lasting. It holds up for several hours. Itās quiet, though. Very lovely.
Conclusion
This was a (medium-spontaneous) Spring Study.
Iām very glad to participate and have so many hours with these wines. In general, I manage a sort of charmed existence with my Burgundy Studies. I get to drink with a lot people I really like & admire which makes the study a lot different (and special) than merely collecting wine memories.
Michael & I have very different personalities, but weāre both very intense people. I think sharing great wines (and sharing in wine culture, overall) is a vessel where we can bring the full force of character & intensity into something beautiful. Our Full Force. Which is not necessarily the easiest match for that much intensity.
These Burgundy Studies are beautiful moments in time.
11 Likes
Unlisted backyard MSD
Incredible notes as always. Love it!!
why not just do smaller pours and more often?
1 Like
Oh we do, but I like having more wine in the glass.
Eileen thought the RSV showed well initially but faded; she thought it was the least complex of the wines. She thought the Richebourg improved the most throughout the night and was singing at the end of the night. She noted that it had evolved more in the glass and needed more time as she added more from the bottle. She thought the La Tache was the best wine and the most emotional, whereas the RC was more like a monument that was perfectly constructed and without flaws, but less thrilling.
I was really happy that all five wines (6 including the backyard truchot) all showed phenomenally. All of the food was fantastic and we had excellent conservations. It is rare to have a gathering so great from top to bottom.
3 Likes
So you can talk about how Aubert changed the tasting order of the DRC lineup in 17 and lots of other topics when it comes to DRC, but in the end, at least to me, every DRC lineup tasting comes down to the RC vs La Tache.
In most cases, the question comes down to power versus elegance, where La Tache has more aromatic fireworks while RC has more aromatic expressivity, and continues to the palate, where La Tache typically has more midpalate intensity and depth while RC has more midpalate elegance, and to the finish, where RC may have a longer and more complex finish. In our case I donāt think this was as typical, as La Tache was the more aromatically expressive and intense wine, as well as bigger and more, emotional, while RC was more cerebral and subtle, and so perfectly rounded on the palate. As Nick said, it was a really cool comparison and fun to sit with the wines for hours.
Thereās also a clear qualitative gap between La Tache and RSV/Richebourg.
4 Likes
i agree and very well said. La Tache is often too exotic when it is just entering its maturity period. My best La Tache experience has always been from vintage 1994 - a so, so vintage year in that you do not have too wait too long for it to start to enter its maturity periodsā¦until La Tacheā¦1996.
1 Like
I tend to prefer La Tache on the younger side; I felt like 99 was close to as good as it gets, some 10s have been good, 00/01/02/07 have all been fantastic. 96 was ok, but not my favorite. Well stored bottles of 61/71/76/78 all tasted over the hill to me.
1 Like
Excellent job guys. Lovely notes Michael and Nick!
2 Likes
Nick and I had the chance to chat on the phone yesterday, and I was thrilled to hear the animation in his voice as he described this special evening. You both have done the wines proud with your exceptional notes.
The one thing I have found to be distinctive of the (far fewer) DRCs Iāve had the privilege to try is that they all speak so clearly of their place, their terroir. I probably slightly prefer Rousseau or Cecile Tremblay as a producer, but can acknowledge this tremendous facet of the DRC wines (and could be persuaded to change my mind! )
I put my tongue firmly in cheek when I said to Nick that it would be utter blasphemy, but maybe heretical fun to have done a glass, a very small one, and blend what you felt might be the optimal blend of the 4 wines. I knowāblaspemy! 
Thanks again for the vicarious thrills. I really do enjoy reading about experiences like this, the best part being the people
One serious questionāwhich wine-food pairing do you guys think was the best on this night?
I am, BTW, also in the camp of enjoying holding wines in the glass for a few hours to see how they change and present.
Sante
4 Likes
High quality rare or medium rare Duck with Grand Cru Burgundy is usually always the best pairing. Certainly with La Tache 
.
And as you might imagine: Michael takes the sourcing & preparation of his Duck very seriously.
6 Likes
I was pleased with how the duck turned out but the veal with the RSV was also very nice as was the spice cake with all of the wines.
3 Likes
A different question would be what was the most singular pairing.
For that, I agree with Michael: Eileenās savory spice cake with Normandy butter combined with the Richebourg was an eclectic, high-skill synergy 
4 Likes
Food pairingā¦with La Tache ?
How about mashed potatoes with no butter ?
The duck was perfect with the La Tache.
The duck with your sourceā¦should be ā¦perfect with 1999 La Tache.
As 2007 La Tache is currently drinking in his highest formā¦why need any food to pair with it ? .
Take sip of La Tache 2007 swirled it in your mouth to let aromas to develop and take a deep breath - wait about 5 to 10 second - and then take a small spoonful of mashed potatoes ( no butter please )ā¦and swallow it with the La Tache juice together. I am quite sureā¦it will enhance your enjoyment more of the La Tache 2007 in its purest beauty.
A beautifully flower in full bloom, one needs only to add a few green leaves around it.
Needless to say, if you really also enjoy your duck with sourceā¦how about pairing it with DRC -Ech 2007 ?
Obviously we tried it without food but it was still better with the duck.