nine decades of domaine de la romanée-conti…

30.4.2013billn

vivant!
I was (very kindly!) invited to this event, but unfortunately couldn’t make the date, which saved me from the nitty-gritty conversation of what constitutes ‘an invite’ – a seat, or a seat I had pay for? 😉

Regardless; what a treat!

Nine decades of Domaine Romanée-Conti in London, Part 1 and Part 2.

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

There are 8 responses to “nine decades of domaine de la romanée-conti…”

  1. filobianco30th April 2013 at 11:09 amPermalinkReply

    “Only 3,500 bottles, or ten barrels, of DRC Montrachet are produced on average. It is extraordinarily rare.

    I did not have high hopes for the 2008 (serial number 00929; 3,524 bottles) poured here. It was wet wet wet that year, raining in June, July, August and early September. Botrytis was a problem—but only for mortals. How DRC crafted this masterpiece in such an unpromising vintage is still a mystery to me.”

    2008 as a weak vintage in white burg ? That’s a first.

  2. Mark Gough30th April 2013 at 8:20 pmPermalinkReply

    Ha Filippo,

    I logged on to make the same comment exactly and you’ve beaten me to it my mind reading friend 🙂

    Me thinks Mr George shows his inadequacies and lack of ‘proper’ knowledge in his, sorry, really ridiculous comment on 2008 for whites. An absolutely top notch white vintage for me, everyone tried just an excellent combination of fruit and a point acidity. Superior to the aso pretty good 2007 and lesser if still good 2009’s. 2010 I reckon could be on a par / better than 2008 but not enough experience for now to comment – other than unrepresentative EP tastings.

    Reds none too shabby for me in this vintage (2008) either – love ’em. Am typing this sipping a really juicy, earthy, ‘alive’, light, floating, earthy, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, mineral, palate staining Bachelet-Monnot 2008 Bourgogne Rouge bin end sale bottle (!) – yum ! 2008 reds for me have been great from the ‘get go’ (Bill’s recent note on D-F’s Beaune Montrevenots a case in point) with no sign of closing down.

  3. billn1st May 2013 at 8:39 amPermalinkReply

    I’ll leave the vintage quality report to my fellow vendangeur… 😉
    And (of-course) in Burgundy, 3,500 bottles or 11-12 barrels is often one of the larger cuvées, even before we look at the name on the label!

  4. Stuart George1st May 2013 at 4:58 pmPermalinkReply

    “2008 as a weak vintage in white burg ? That’s a first.”

    It is indeed, since nowhere did I refer to 2008 as a “weak” vintage.

    Mr Gough comments that “Me thinks (sic) Mr George shows his inadequacies and lack of ‘proper’ knowledge in his, sorry, really ridiculous comment on 2008 for whites. An absolutely top notch white vintage for me, everyone tried just an excellent combination (sic) of fruit and a point acidity. Superior to the aso (sic) pretty good 2007 and lesser if still good 2009′s (sic).

    First, please call me Stuart.

    Second, I consulted DRC’s site and my own notes for information on the 2008 vintage. It rained a lot and there was nothing to suggest that such a profound wine could have been made that year. DRC’s Montrachet is a triumph—and doubtless other fine white Burgundies were made in 2008.

    • billn2nd May 2013 at 6:17 amPermalinkReply

      You are right Stuart – from the weather, there was indeed nothing to suggest anything profound about the 08s, but from the harvest it was clear that the grapes were in very good shape, little triage required, they were ripe and they showed very good acidity.

      The sweet/sour nature of the whites was lovely, and on average they were nicer than the 07s, yet at the top-end I always preferred 07. I think the sour may come to dominate the sweet as the 08s age, but time will tell.

  5. Stuart George1st May 2013 at 5:02 pmPermalinkReply

    In response to Bill’s comment about the “nitty-gritty conversation of what constitutes ‘an invite’ – a seat, or a seat I had pay for?”… Well, there’s no such thing as a free (DRC) lunch. The combined value of the nine DRC wines served was c.£20,000—and they had to pay their way.

  6. Tom Blach2nd May 2013 at 1:26 pmPermalinkReply

    Nice to see the 04 Rousseau giving general satisfaction. Curiously I was served a Fourrier CSJ 99 blind at lunch the other day and a very experienced taster was convinced it was an 04. Myself I noticed a lot of stems in the wine, which clearly weren’t there.

    • billn2nd May 2013 at 1:27 pmPermalinkReply

      He’s a card that JMF – always putting something in his bottles that’s not really there! 🙂

  7. Dan Perrelli5th May 2013 at 7:50 pmPermalinkReply

    Not sure why this label-whore posting was noted. Not really up to your usual standards. Clueless on vintage characteristics and needlessly boastful on the nature of the “event”. Perhaps Mr. George hasn’t read Chapter Eleven of Allen Meadows’ “The Pearl of the Cote”.

    • billn6th May 2013 at 5:37 amPermalinkReply

      Sorry to disappoint you Dan, but I think it’s in my genes – I’m just a sucker for DRC story 😉

  8. Stuart George6th May 2013 at 6:42 amPermalinkReply

    Thanks Bill!

    Thanks also to Dan for pointing me towards the Meadows tasting. Not having seen the book I was unaware of it. Recently I also came across Bipin Desai’s report on ““One hundred years of Romanée-conti: from 1899 to 1999”, a three-day tasting that was held in February 2003. But nine decades of DRC in one evening ain’t bad and it certainly had not been done before in London.

    Clueless? Well, I consulted works by Michael Broadbent MW, Anthony Hanson MW (with whom I worked for five years), Jasper Morris MW (chez Berry Bros. & Rudd’s website) and Robert Parker. I don’t think these distinguished gentlemen are “clueless”, nor were my pithy summaries of the vintages.

    My full report on the 2011 vintage can be seen at http://stuartgeorge.net/?p=2379

    I’m no “label-whore” either. I can assure Dan that I spend more time drinking Chilean Pinot Noir than DRC…

    Have any of the respondents here actually tried the wines that I wrote about? Not one of them has said anything about the specific wines (except Tom Blach on the 2004 Rousseau), which suggests that they haven’t. I’m always happy to debate the merits or otherwise of wines with people who know what they’re talking about—that is, who have actually tried them and can form an opinion thereof. Otherwise… Tant pis.

    • billn6th May 2013 at 6:55 amPermalinkReply

      Hi Stuart
      The Meadows book is a good one, though I feel uncomfortable with his concentration on something that only millionaires can take part in – that’s the egalitarian in me – but it is most-certainly worth the read. (Review here)

      Thanks also for your vintage 2011 link – I’ll print it off to read while travelling this week. I think I’m the only ‘voice’ that has urged caution with 2011 (reds!). I think they have the pyrazine taint of 2004, but I of-course reserve the right to change my mind after they have been in bottle for at least 6 months – the acid-test à la 2004…. 😉 Of-course it would be such a shame, because the base wines are indeed, largely lovely…

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