Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2014s - from bottle

Having tasted at Bonneau du Martray and then Domaine Leflaive it was time to head north to Vosne-Romanee and to taste the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2014s from bottle with Aubert de Villaine. This was his first tasting from bottle. For good measure and as a reference please see my notes from the bottle tastings of 2012s and 2013s (both these tastings were in the February following - so just over 3 months later).

Corton - Good deep nose with red and black fruit that is then followed by herbs and Potpourri. There is real purity here, none of the hardness that you can sometimes associate with Corton. On the palate there is a beautiful touch of sweetness but also some nervous energy and some sappiness. All really rather fine, driven with some stemminess, delicious. Good, good wine, not massively Corton in nature but delicious. 17.5-18.5

Echezeaux - Orange rind and a dash of cloves, quite herbal on the nose. Both airy and complete, lifted. There is a little saline and the wine gets deeper and  more intense with every swirl. The palate has a lovely attack, sweet and then with that driven element. More richness and texture than the Corton. This is a larger Echezeaux than usual, more zip but also more weight, splendid...loved this. So complete. 18-18.5

Grands Echezeaux - A little deeper in colour than the Echezeaux. More spice and a darker fruit type, more introvert, more sinister than the Echezeaux. The nose is then almost the opposite, less deep, dark more nervous and with lift. There is a substantial weight in energy here, also quite a bit of tannin. This is a structured Grands Echezzeaux and should the mid-palate flesh out then a potentially special wine. 17.5-18.5 (the former score is the palate the later the nose - one to follow)

Romanee-Saint-Vivant - A shade deeper again but the differences are genuinely minute. A nose of real intensity but the orange rind character of Echezeaux is there. So pretty, so airy, a very complete nose. A very gentle but proper palate, a sweet attack and then drive. The palate matches the nose perfectly, very complete, elegant but with a certain graceful power, herbal oranges as part of the fruit. There is a certain richness that adds a dimension to this. My note finishes "exactly as it should be". 18-18.5+

Richebourg - Possibly a shade lighter than RSV for a change. A certain brooding nature to this, a little less complex than the Vivant on the nose, fruit a shade more candied, good focus but less dimensions. The palate has a certain stout power, darker fruit, masses of good tannins. Classy, serious, broader all round. Re-visiting the nose it is now more complex, there is almost indefinite ageing potential here. Not the grace of  Echezeaux or RSV but the spice and power is there. Classical Richebourg fans (I tend to be more an RSV man) will be very pleased. Scoring here was difficult  17.5- 19

La Tache - Very complex, a herbal edge, a very together wine, much harder to describe than the others for me. More red than black fruit. Saline comes in, a seriously enticing nose. I was surprised when we discussed the wines after (we tasted in silence) that the others found La Tache more muted, I didn't. The palate has lovely depth and sweetness, good weight too. There is a great element of persistent, elegant power here. The power comes from the layers rather than the weight for weights sake. Returning to the nose my note finishes with simply "that nose!!". 19

Romanee-Conti - At least the colour of La Tache (for a change). Deep nose, more reserved, more power than usual for me. Monumental depth and complexity. More dark fruit than red. Such sucrosity to the palate, intensely primary and redder, driven, spice and a definite herbal edge. Tight, latent, powerful for Romanee-Conti, super-expansive palate. A brilliantly confusing wine, like nailing jelly to a wall when it comes to describing it. "Rather wonderful" is a useless, if moderately accurate, description. 19-19.5

Montrachet - Pale yet golden colour. Brine and pure saline elements but with pure golden fruit. The definition of delicious. Shortbread and drive, energy. The perfect blend of power, richness and classicism. So, so, so generous yet totally true to young Grand Cru Burgundy. So full but so driven. My note here finishes with "I do not know in what way this could be better!" When I said this to Aubert he, smiled and said yes "we are very happy". Quite simply the greatest young white wine I have had. 19.5-20

It had been a great and always re-assuring tasting, these are great wines but you feel that they are great rather than trying to be great. I have a feeling that people have underestimated the 2014 reds just as they may do the same with the white 2015s.

And with this we were off to Dijon and train back to London.

The main man!

Domaine Leflaive 2015s...oh and a bit on my "warmer vintage theory"

So having left Bonneau du Martray we headed south to meet up with Brice and the team at Domaine Leflaive. We discussed the vintage and then straight into the tasting.

Brice de la Morandiere

Brice drew some parallels to the 2010s and some elements of 2014 in so far as there was rapid maturity in June and July. As far as harvest goes it was their second earliest start (Friday 28th August) on record at the Domaine. You'd think that the earliest one was 2003, I did, but in fact it was 2011 with 2003 in the bronze medal spot.

Bourgogne Blanc 2015 - Some yellow gold, fresh, generous, not overly lean...nice easy to enjoy, good wine. A dash of spice in there...lots of fruit too, decent acidity giving a nice bit of precision. 16.5 - 17.5 out of 20

Puligny-Montrachet 2015 - A glint of green in the colour, nice sweet attack then a grip of acidity, quite bold. There is a richness and weight to this, a shade heavier than the Bourgogne Blanc. Some lemon sherbet, impressive. 17 - 17.5 out of 20

Meursault 1er Cru Sous le Dos d'Ane 2015 - More gold to the colour, more restrained on the nose. Lovely wine, saline in the mix. Yellow fruits but properly subdued, balanced. Lemon, good spice on the palate, a little prickle of energy. Moreish texture with almost a little tannin. The best Meursault yet from this site and I have loved many of them. 18 out of 20

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 2015 - Hints of green again a little like the Puligny Villages. This is tasting the youngest of these, a month behind in evolution, a prickle of gas. A few good nuts and greener fruits, nice depth, spicier and serious. 17.5-18 out of 20 

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatieres 2015 - Less colour here. Steelier...reminds me of Grand Cru Chablis, very mineral. Good weight of sweeter fruit on the palate. Good wine this, long and moreish. 18-18+ out of 20

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Combettes 2015 - Limes on the nose and more to show that Folatieres at first, Again good weight and volume, great acidity. Long and Grand Cru like on the palate, some green spice, nice nice wine this. Lovely precision. Rich but in no way clumsy. 18+ out of 20

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 2015 - Pure light colour, behind Combettes in maturity to my mind. Primary and very focused. Very tight and mineral, a little cheesecloth, fruit character is more lean, less generous. More serious, more for the longer term. Lovely acidity, lively but with real balance, fruit is more on the green/white spectrum than yellow/gold. Strict and very proper. 18-18.5 out of 20

Bienvenues-Batard-Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2015 - Pure, Islay nose of brine and saline, very very poised and intense. Delicious palate, there is lively acidity but a sweet fruited nose and delightful richness, all in check and perfectly proportioned. A tiny dash of reduction then a log texture finishes, delicious and serious...pretty special. 18.5 out of 20

Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2015 - An immediately broader nose, weightier palate. More sun, more gourmand, more flattering. Delicious palate very rich, broader shoulders. Good spice and to a degree more of the character I expected in 2015. This is easy to "get" and easy to like. 18 out of 20

Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2015 - There is, to me, a line from this to Pucelles straight away. Taut, poised. Delicious weight to the palate. There is an understated confidence to it, even a slight smugness. Some brine but a lovely sweetness on the palate. Waxy and very long. My note ends "splendid". 19 out of 20

Domaine Leflaive Holdings

My warmer vintage theory - this isn't so much a theory as a series of observations from a few tastings. I have seen in more recent warm vintages, often the very same vintages that tend to get a better write-up for reds than whites (so 2003, 2005, 2009 and potentially 2015) that actually, by picking early, the great white Domaines can do just as well if not better than in the more classical years. This was born out to a degree in both of these tastings Roulot a good look and Burgundy pairs 2009 & 2010. I can hear the cynics saying... "well you would say that as a merchant about to sell exactly that sort of vintage" but I also happen to think it is true.

Back to Leflaive for a moment and before we headed into Beaune for a very speedy lunch we had a look at the developments in storage they are making and along the way we were shown the two barrels that are talked about in this story. The two, slightly differently sized, barrels will be raised at Domaine Leflaive. What will happen to the wine is not yet decided.

Newcastle with "Newcastle" & "Halifax"

If you look back through this blog there are many people I have been very privileged to drink a lot of great wine with…right up there (easily in "Europe" and probably fighting for the title are two gentlemen who go by the monikers on here of "Newcastle" and "Halifax". Last week I made the remarkably easy - this could become a dangerous habit - trip to Newcastle for a cracking dinner. Both gents were joined by their splendid other halves and much fun was had, as much with the wine as the chat - rugby, racing, golf etc...

We were very well looked after by the team at 21 Newcastle with a lovely menu of; Lobster, Turbot, Beef and Cheeses. The scene need some setting so a few G&T's were used to hydrate before we made our way to the table.

Salon 1988 was a lovely starting place, fully mature now (like some of us) with a orange-rind and yeasty richness, interestingly this got fresher in glass with a bit of air. Salon is always a very vinous Champagne and so it was here, this reminded me a little of a recent bottle of 1983 mentioned at the end of this post. The slightly oxidative and powder elements gave way to freshness. Its an interesting Salon as it is the only one where malolactic fermentation started what makes it more widely interesting is that it never completed.

Next up with the lovely Lobster dish and then a cracking bit of turbot was, that rarest of beasts, a "double monty" with Ramonet and DRC on display. Montrachet 2002 from Ramonet is one of those wines you know you will not get to drink more than once unless your very lucky. I have a little experience of the wines from Ramonet now and love the style. I like to think it is a touch individual, stem ginger seeming to be a bit of a signature. This was a big wine, though I don't know for sure, but I would say both this and the 1986 that followed had a good bit of that Montrachet botrytis richness. We choose, wisely I think, to have this 2002 decanted. It has a slight toffee aroma to start, this coming from the richness and the oak but with only a tiny bit of air the ginger started to come out as did layer upon layer of rich fruit. Absolutely cracking and greater and greater with air, some wine. From there we were onto Montrachet 1986 from DRC. I am lucky to try Montrachet from DRC on release each year and through others generosity to have had it a few times with some age but I have never had the 1986 or even a vintage within 4 or 5 years of that. It was instantly a good bottle. We decided there was no need to decant this. The full textural richness was perfect again the totally mature, decadent fruit, really lovely balanced, a wine you couldn't help but wallow in really. We tried to keen a little bit of each going for a while to try alongside the reds. They were both more just great wines rather than great white wines if that makes any sense.


Time for red now as a vast amount of beef appeared. Soldera 2008 kicked us off, I am biased but this is one hell of an estate. Visits to Soldera are always magical, controversial, inspiring and never dull. I find the wine so easy to enjoy but at the same time as wonderfully complex, as much as the man who makes it. Like so many of the great mono-varietal red wines (Burgundy and Barolo spring to mind but others too) it strikes me as such an error to not enjoy these wines young as well as with age. There is always a note of wet meat (just think of how great raw cool beef smells) as well as a floral red fruit edge before a darker core. Yum!

The next red was Volnay Santenots du Milieu 1993 from Lafon, a great wine to get to try but (and sorry there is a "but") it was just a little overshadowed in this league. Now, I can hear a few readers here saying "it's not a wine Will sells" and they are correct, but I like to think bias and all, I say what I think. This was a good medium weight wine with good balance, well made, nice nose, the "but" and it was the same when I did a tasting - Burgundy pairs 2009 and 2010 - with trade mates a while back is all round whether it is Volnay. I think Lafon makes seriously great whites in many different years and with a great richness. The estate doesn't seem to make great reds, good yes, but true to the Volnay elegance? This is nothing new, D'Angerville and Lafarge are producers I love and they make great Volnay but never hit the heights with the whites they make, nice though they often are. Anne-Claude Leflaive gave up making red…it is just not an easy thing - to do both. Comments welcome on my thoughts here…I can't make red of white so I am a fine one to talk!

So to the last red - Latour 1964 - now this is Pauillac and so mighty fine. Rich but not remotely heavy, blacker fruit but with iron and power, absolutely perfect now. May be tasting a little younger than 52 years but so graceful, so Latour. The only vintage, as we discussed, that you might have confused it with is Latour's very good 1970. It was everything to should have been and frankly so was the whole evening, lots of wine, great chat, a chance to catch up and to laugh.

No evening would ever be complete with a few Negronis would it…chaps, and ladies, I thank you…until next time!

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2013's...

I try each year to document my notes of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti wines. I did this with the DRC 2012's actually at the Domaine last year which was a real treat. Last Tuesday saw the annual press tasting of the 2013's - a vintage (the only vintage) I have been lucky enough to taste from barrel (see end of this POST). The wines are "finished" wines, served from bottle.

The wines in order of tasting are covered below (there is no Cuvee Duvault-Blochet in 2013), I am normally quite anal about putting Grand Cru, 1er Cru etc but as they are all Grand Cru...

Corton* - Markedly redder than it has been for the last few vintages, the first being 2009. Crisp and almost crunchy. This was the wine that I found most different at lunch with more volume of wine, it became more juicy with a bit more grip and grit. This is what 2013 Corton should be like, to my mind anyhow.

Echezeaux* - To me this is the wine that showed a whole bunch character the most. Pencil shavings and a little grit, fine-grained pepper too. It was driven and fresh with lively acidity and red fruits at the core...a serious Echezeaux, uncompromising.

Grands Echezeaux - A deeper and more substantial nose. More stuffing, darker fruit, good structure and a nicely sappy edge also, this is balanced and in common with the Echezeaux is a serious rendition.

Romanee-Saint-Vivant* - I am totally biased here having seen this wine come to full blossom over the last 15 years. This is floral and red fruited and with sincere focus. Intense, poised and quite linear. There is a little spice but it stays firmly in the background. I think 2013 exaggerates the strengths of RSV. Superb.

Richebourg - A lot of people mentioned this as a real favourite, I love how different it is from RSV. I'd almost always have the RSV if I was on a desert island and had to choose but hopefully that won't happen. The fruit is deeper and darker, blacker and more sturdy, as it should be. There is a little graphite and a very slight edge of orange rind. It's slightly like a combination of Corton, Clos Vougeot and Richebourg.

La Tache - The word that springs to mind, especially after such significant differences in the other wines, is "completeness". Elements of all the others and a seamless texture as well. There is that dash of spice and it is almost impossible to define the fruit as red or black as it is both. Refined and flamboyant in equal measure.

Romanee-Conti - Superb nose but somehow a little more one dimensional than La Tache. The palate is alive and very red-fruited and fresh a little like the RSV but with the texture of Tache. I am never worried by this wine not being head and shoulders above La Tache at this early stage. Romanee Conti always ages on its grace and harmony as this tasting taught me.

*the notes for these wines are an amalgam of the tasting and lunch.

The Montrachet is never shown at the tasting but I was lucky enough to try it over lunch afterwards.

Montrachet - Reduced nose (I love reduction), rich but not heavy. The palate has a balancing driven saline element that has a lot of energy to it. This is a cooler vintage Montrachet with great acidity, may be slightly less opulence. The nose over time lost the reductive covering with citrus, especially lemon, coming to the fore. This is in-line with the Montrachets from vintages like 2004 and 2007. Superb, cellar worthy and serious.

This is one of those days in the year that really makes me wish I had started my blog much earlier...

DJP - a couple of cracking days...

Last week it was great to have Edouard Labruyere head of Famille Labruyere (Domaine Jacques Prieur, Chateau Rouget, Domine Labruyere and soon to be Champagne Labruyere) in London for a series of tasting, visits and dinners. This followed on from a launch last year and another post I did with a fair few notes, mostly about the 2013's. I am keen to state that I am writing this from a rather biased standpoint but I wanted to record what I found to be a brilliant range of wines.

The notes below are taken from three tastings of the Domaine Jacques Prieur (DJP) 2014's and two meals - one a dinner at The Stafford Wine Cellar and the other a lunch at  67 Pall Mall.

A "nice" lunch time line-up

I made various notes from each time Edouard spoke, which is does unusually well. It was a real education. Rather than the fact that he rushes between the four regions in which he works, being a distraction, it seems to give him a fresh approach to each.

I will try to weave a few DJP details into the wines but it is fair to say that there are two key people, Edouard who took over the reins in 2008, and Nadine Gublin who has made the wines for 25 years. In those 25 years, the quality has risen markedly but it might be fair to say that since 2008 they have taken an even steeper upward curve. No Battonage, no filtration...less new oak, less (usually none) stems. The estate is now reveling in the holdings it has - "a duty not a right" Edouard says - and what holdings they are. Nine Grand Crus and fifteen 1er Crus!

2014 Reds

Beaune 1er Cru Greves - Such a tricky year here with the hail, ultimately just 17 hl/ha as a yield with the site needing 4 "harvests" - 29th June post the storm, late August, early September and then the "real" one in mid-September. There was just one pushdown and one pump over in the winemaking. The wine sees 20% new oak from 5 different coopers. There is a nice opulence to this wine on the nose but also a citrusy drive. Red fruits for sure but a little spice and a reassuringly "proper" structure.

Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Santenots - This is a walled monopole inside Volnay Santenots, at the top and north of the vineyard. Only 4 barrels were made and the wine sees 50% new oak (when you only have four barrels the choice obviously comes in increments of 25%). Whilst tasting this wine Edouard made an interesting observation, this was that of all the vineyards that were hit so hard by hail - 80%-100% destroyed - in 2012/13/14 it was those that practised Biodynamics that recovered the most, others having been literally destroyed. This wine has a real vibrancy and lovely texture...Edouard observed that it was like a Cote de Nuits Grand Cru but in Volnay...there is certainly something in that.
  

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru - "The bad boy of the Domaine" was Edouard's opening here. The DJP Clos Vougeot is in the middle of the Grand Cru, no limestone, mostly clay. This sees 20-24 months in 30% new oak (used to be 100%) and includes 20% full bunches. The wine itself is punchy and rich but fresh with a good texture, darker fruits as you would expect but not without a hint of red. Violets and vibrancy as well as structure. Very much what it should be. As an aside I have twice tasted a range of Clos Vougeot's blind and both times it has included the DJP - Clos Vougeot 2011's & Clos Vougeot 2013's 

Musigny Grand Cru - And so to one of Burgundies most iconic terroirs. DJP is the 3rd largest owner of the Musigny with 0.7hectares sited at the southern end with La Combe d'Orveau above it which provides a fresh channel of air. This is very impressive and has lovely salinity (a trait I love), again darker fruit but freshness like the Clos Vougeot but another world in terms of the complexity and poise, serious for sure but not without showing its breeding...special.

2014 Whites

Beaune Blanc 1er Cru Greves - On the top of this site there is more limestone and that is where the Chardonnay is planted. DJP first made this wine in 2009. There is a lovely lushness to the wine initially but then a nice zip of citrus freshness, stones and sherbet both spring to mind and then a lovely cool finish...impressive.

Meursault Clos de Mazeray Monopole - A few of interesting things here. Firstly, this is the Domaines only non 1er Cru but this is in fact only a result of the owners not wishing to pay more tax back in 1936 when the classification was set, they elected for "village" status. Secondly being a walled Monopole they used it for all the experiments in Biodynamics as there were no outside influences to worry about or contaminate findings. The site also has 0.25ha Pinot Noir as well as the 2.75ha of Chardonnay. Moving onto the winemaking this is a wine that is now raised in oak vats, 25hl each, rather than barrels. A move I get the impression Edouard and Nadine will expand. There is open lushness to the palate and a sweetness to the tip of the tongue (this seems a trait of the wine as the 2011 shares it later). The palate is generous but in check. One to wallow in!

  

Meursault 1^er Cr Santenots - Santenots will tend to mean red wine and be Volnay, not Meursault, you gotta love Burgundy for complications...This site was planted in 2000, young therefore in many ways but with Biodynamics it was suggested a vineyard gets to a certain level of maturity (25yrs being something of a benchmark historically) that bit earlier. This was driven and had stones and minerality on the palate, then a more generous side before a lovely lemon finish. Really rather lovely.

Puligny-Montrachet 1^er Cru Combettes - Every, of the three, times I tasted this I was very impressed. I like Combettes but it does sometimes try too hard, trying to prove it is "the" Grand Cru white that isn't. This though has all the drive of Puligny and then a little of the texture of may be Batard but certainly with a nod to the steelier Meursault. I couldn't resist the comment that maybe it is the "Grand Cru that Meursault doesn't have" as it borders that great village. Well, either way it is special and I most intrigued to hear Edouard say that in 2014 this saw/will see 50% barrel ageing and 50% oak vat ageing. A good way to counteract the potential over exuberance of this cru. Stunning.

Montrachet Grand Cru - Well then...having been staggered by a wine before Montrachet you wonder if the most famous white wine vineyard in the world will let you down? No chance. DJP own 0.6 hectares with one "batch" lying, more conventionally, east-west (gives structure and body) and one that is north-south (power).  This wine Edouard describes as Fort Knox on account of the observation that it is rather difficult to know how to get in! I do know where he is coming from and this is a wine rather than solely a white wine that will repay cellaring in spades but it is beautiful now as well, opulent lemon, long, weighty on the finish but not clumsily so...this is a wine to own.

Dinner in the Cellars of The Stafford...

Lunch & Dinner Wines

Meursault Clos de Mazeray Monopole Blanc 2011 - Interestingly we served this at the beginning and end of dinner and only at the end of lunch. I hate great red wines being served with only cheese when they deserve the main dish and also white does the cheese job better. I won't repeat the Clos de Mazeray notes of above. This though, plays perfectly to the loveliness (though probably never profundity) that is 2011 white Burgundy. Easy and sweetly delicious with acidity too but never too much of anything. Lemon and honey, some stones, a dash of saline then, when warmer, a little popcorn (salt not sugar). I could drink this all night long without ever feeling the need to concentrate.

The red "meal" wines

Beaune 1er Cru Clos de la Feguine Rouge 2007 - I'll start by saying I love 2007 reds when done well and this is in the ball park. Poise, elegance, fragrance and red fruit should be the watch words and this does that. Edouard commented that, in 2007, picking date was crucial. If too early you lost the maturity of the tannin. He also said how light extraction (and this was the lightest colour of the "meal" wines by some way) was crucial in order to avoid the green notes. The nose is gentle but confusingly pungent with herbs and oranges as well as red fruits, aromatic would be a good word, as much in common with great tea as a delicious wine. It is pretty but that seems patronising, it is a delicious wine that will hold well but I can't think I would like it more than I do now. A good illustration of why you should find producers you like and buy each year...as the next few wines proved you need something to keep you busy and keep your hands off the gorgeous but patience deserving (demanding?) vintages.

Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 2005 - This is sited near to Volnay 1er Cru Champans and was picked quite early. It shows a certain age in its seriousness but not in its lack of freshness, it has a crunchy menthol and herbal sprightliness. There is a real power to this but never a heaviness. We had a discussion over lunch on when you would drink this and once I got passed my slightly glib comment of "it depends how you like it?" I think we settled on the fact that you would look again in 2-4 years and go from there. Lovely.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2009 - Edouard observed here that Corton is "the underestimated guy of Burgundy". The site they have is east-south-east facing and he likes to pick quite early and often uses whole-bunches here, 50% in 2009. A very interesting observation was of the note of cloves you get from Corton, I like cloves! There is a lovely richness to this, decadence almost, quite glossy as it is the only wine that has shown any oak, not worryingly so as it'll soon disappear into the wine. Opulent but very correct, becomes a little more savoury with air, some bacon and what I described as sweaty spices...oh how I would love to see where this is in 5 years.

Chambertin Grand Cru 2010 - They have, including their Clos de Beze, almost a hectare here and they make essentially two wines, one from the older vines (generally 65yrs +) and one, that often gets declassified to Gevrey-Chambertin, from the younger vines. This is an intense wine, really beautiful but also brooding. There is meat and spices and a delightfully savoury, saline edge that make note writing very hard. Completeness is probably the word to use. Edouard was interesting on the differences between '05, '09 & '10 he said in  both of the former the key thing was to pick relatively early, don't wait for too much ripeness. Whereas in the later the acidity is the key. Whichever vintages you might think you prefer they are going to be quite a trio to follow.

A really splendid few days!!

Not just any 40th Birthday - one hell of a dinner...

It has taken me a long time to write this one up - I am not completely sure why, but when you see the line up may be I was a little intimated by the unique array of wines. It was a simply brilliant dinner to celebrate Jordi's 40th Birthday. The wines were, with I think one exception, supplied by the man himself.

La Trompette in Chiswick was the venue and a brilliant job they did too. The food, listed below with a few pics at the bottom of the post, was superb, never showing too much ego just complementing the wines.

Cep Arancini

Seared Isle of Orkney scallops with parsley root, delice pumpkin and hazelnut

Roast Guinea Fowl with turnip and come di rapa

Roast Fallow prickett with jerusalem artichoke, bone marrow, elderberries and damson

Charolis and whipped goat's curd

Chocolate tart, salted caramel ice cream, white chocolate crumble, espresso vinaigrette

So onto the wines then, each pair or trio was shown blind briefly before a reveal:

Bollinger Grand Annee 1982 en Magnum was our starting point with a lovely mellow, toasty notes, some nuttiness but not bready. There was good focus to this mature Champagne.

When I caught a glance of the white pair which was not served blind I was instantly excited. Having been smitten by so many Coche wines down the years I has always wasted to drink the Corton-Charlemagne. The 2005's from Coche are rightly lauded as exceptional, early picking the key, so Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2005, Coche-Dury had a bit of a reputation to live up to. It did so effortlessly. My notes are just a list of adjectives; persistent, dense, acidity, freshness, luscious, endless, refined, wow! To be flippant it was just delicious. You could savour it over days or throw it back, as with all great wines it begged to be drunk. To then have it with Montrachet Grand Cru 1986 from Ramonet was some treat. Even more of a treat was the fact that this did not turn into a battle or competition, the verve of one complemented the maturity of the other. The Ramonet had some of this producers classic signatures; Lanolin, ginger, spice, a little more ginger then nutmeg. It was heady and rich but not heavy.

So from Burgundy it was a trip west to Bordeaux for the next pair. There is some exceptional "value" to be had in mature white Bordeaux. The Laville Haut Brion Blanc 1966 had a note of green fruit, lovely verve and freshness, there was, amazingly, a district sauvignon note to this. An unctuous depth. Splendid wine. By contrast the Haut brion Blanc 1985 was deeply frustrating as you could glimpse a great wine but it was in some way unclean. In agreement with others it didn't seem corked to me (and didn't get worse with air) but was not what it clearly was underneath.

Any frustration evaporated rather rapidly and here are the three reasons. Vosnee Romanee Cros Parantoux 1990 from E.Rouget was superb, ripeness, richness, sturdy. The ripeness had good depth and some grit. With time some leather and spice, this was very much the opulent texture of the lavish 1990's. Then a little more age, Vosnee Romanee Les Brulées  1977 from H.Jayer, sweet, rounded and charming, so elegant so seductive, complex and absolutely "a point". Such a treat. The final Musketeer, Vosnee Romanee Les Brulées 1970, R.Engel with oranges, dried herbs, tea, some sweetness, bricky acidity and a slightly citric edge, almost a note of cherry, good now and probably not worth holding longer. What a trio!

BUT…then another trifecta was shown. The Moueix flight! Petrus 1960 was tropically high toned, as always with Petrus, stunning, iron like, extravagant, complete, so textured, so dense with some good acidity, succulent…just so "Petrus". Trotanoy 1955 was a delight, such a good vintage, iron-like richness, blood and meat, a lovely maturity with good acidity, almost a mocha note, magical finish, so moreish. Very different to the Petrus but complimentary. Latour a Pomerol 1949 (more - rather a lot more - of which coming on another blog soon) had more sinew, grip, a savoury edge, lovely grittiness, a shade of bovril, slightly dry toffee finish. By this stage it was already a dinner of a lifetime but wait there is more!

The next two wines, both Burgundy, couldn't have been much more different. First there was Chambertin Grand Cru - Domaine Marion - 1959 from Lionel.J.Bruck en Magnum which had an extravagant nose and lusciously dark core, having this blind I think we were almost all in the Rhone and possibly this wine may have had some help before bottling from that area! It just had a "pepped" up feel to it with a funky grip. The next wine - Romanee Conti Grand Cru 1958 - just simply could not have been more different. Pure elegance, tea and sweet degraded fruits, good energy, gentle and effortless, sweetness again and rosewater delicacy, long and persistent. Special.

Jordi is well know for his love of older wines and whilst we had been "mucking about" with some mature bottles I think he felt it was time to ramp things up and how lucky we were to try these next two but also for them both to show as you could only hope they might. 

Margaux 1900 (Deuxième Vin) had a note of candle wax and bananas, this passed and then there was lush texture of aged purple fruit, lovely, iron showed through amazingly it literally seemed to get younger and younger!! Then going back 30 years further Lafite 1870. This was all iron grit and a little metal then a very clear left bank character came through as the wine gained sweetness and showed more and more of that textbook Cabernet character albeit melded with the maturity…pretty staggering really. We then had the chance to revisit the glasses in front of us and try and take the enormity of what we had been drinking. The good thing was that in all other respects the dinner was just a lot of fun with good stories and views, some nice anecdotes - a good celebration. 

To round things off we had a Madeira from Henriques & Henriques the 1898 Boal Solera this had a very distinct; menthol and pine resin nose then the classical Maderia acidity.

All that really remains is to thank Jordi for the bottles opened, so many of which there is no chance I will ever have again! A special evening.

A few remnants

All set!!

Seared Isle of Orkney scallops with parsley root, delice pumpkin and hazelnut

Roast Guinea Fowl with turnip and come di rapa

Roast Fallow prickett with jerusalem artichoke, bone marrow, elderberries and damson

La Tache - decades and decades...

A wonderful dinner that was years in the organising by Jordi Orriols-Gil. It was a quite wonderful marathon all in all from a kick off at 7pm we finished at midnight…The notes below are a little erratic that is only because with some flights there was a bit of quiet and everyone was quite studious with others the conversation flowed and I wrote far less. As always when dealing with great wine the notes end up being comments and observations, or even character assessments, rather than descriptors.

A mention must go to The Square whose service was good as ever and whose menu was really delicious (a couple of pics at the bottom).

Salad and Tartare of Highland Wagyu Beef with Nasturtium and Bouton de Culotte

Ravioli of Wild Mushrooms with Melted Onions, Parsley Oil and Snails

Glazed Veal Cheeks with Cauliflower, Chanterelles, Parmesan Caviar and Truffle 

Breast & Croustillant of Pigeon with Confit of Vegetables and Trompettes de la Mort 

Burgundian Cheese

Rhubarb Fool

So, on with the wines:

Bollinger RD 79 en magnum - Rich, opulent, a little dry Tarte Tatin, enticing with some saline.

Montrachet 1950, Comte de Moucheron – The Comte de Moucheron were the owners of Chateau du Meursault and the owners of the plot of Montrachet that was later sold to the Domaine in 1966. This was alive but fully mature, as you’d expect. A dry butterscotch and orange character, tangy.

The wines were then served in flights of between three and six wines. The glasses used were mid sized, bigger and some of the delicate wines would have been too prone to oxidation as we were 14 people to each bottle. No wines were decanted just poured straight from the bottle. Other than the magnum of Bollinger everything was from bottle format.

Flight 1: A brilliant flight of young wines that really showed exactly the characters I expected of the vintages.

1999 – Such amazing vibrancy, so rich with fruit but so focussed, a shade of graphite minerality but essentially a wine of opulent fruit, some of that fruit is quite dark. Really very special, on reflection one of the wines of the night. I have had this a few times and it is a stunningly exciting wine, no doubt about that. If you own this be very excited.

 
2000 – A shade more bruised in fruit character, mulled fruit a little, a dash of orange rind but only a tiny bit, light and elegant, no blockbuster, gentle, good focus, became more generous, easily nice, a little grip on the end but essentially very complete if short of being profound.

2002 – A shade degraded as you would expect, very 2002 to the 1999’s purity. “Mulchy” there will be undergrowth to come soon, some mushroom but also sweetness, young but on track to be a wine that has superb secondary and tertiary class. Structure is very good, definitely there but very balanced, retains it’s sweetness. On revisiting later is tightened up and kept it’s focus.

Flight 2: Possibly the flight where I learnt the most, wonderful differences.

1980 – Interestingly Aubert noted that this was the second vintage (after the ‘79) where they did no racking, straight from barrel to bottle so as not to lose anything. This wine reminded me of the Romanee Conti 1965 we had had the previous evening. Incredibly clear, clean and pure, so persistent, like rosewater, consommé and savoury notes all at the same time. Amazing and in most peoples top three wines of the night, who would have thought…

 
1985 – More red colour and depth than the 1980, sweetness, life, very fine. Three of those assembled commented that it was not as perfect as another bottle they had previously drunk together but to me this was high class and really pretty decadent.

1989 – This had a strictness and correctness but certainly a lack of charm. Good weight and density as well as darker, thicker colour, more robust but also a little clumsy. The tannin ws definitely there, as was dark fruit but somehow the two did not meld as they might. I was very re-assured by Aubert’s observation that this was a wine that went into bottle “in a bad mood and has never really changed”. In isolation a good wine from a vintage that has never been as great in Burgundy as other European regions.

1990 – Superb, decadent nose, very 1990. There is an element of the 1999 about this but may be more degradation. There is a little savoury side but fundamentally this is a wine of dark but fresh fruit, succulent texture and a dash of cleansing saline at the end. Odd though this may sound but it reminds me of a Burgundian Haut-Brion 1989 in so far as it is just so hard not to like it and yet it stands out as being of the vintage as much as the site. Delicious.

1991 – If the 1990 has always been the opulent, generous, crowd pleaser then the 1991 is the purists vintage, all freshness and red fruit with acidity to focus and sort of perfect leanness. Such focus and life, nervous energy if you like. Aubert commented that it corresponds exactly to the type of wine that he likes to make. Poised and classy.

1989-1990-1991

Flight 3: It is fair to say this was comfortably the most under performing flight, even those that were good had a degraded, powdery colour and texture.

1970 – It was noted that this was a very difficult vintage with botrytis almost floating in the air as in 1965 and 1967. The wine had some bruised oranges, then quite quickly mushrooms and mushroom water*, it was a little weary but I did like it, long as well.

1971 – We tried two bottles. Neal Martin, whose birth year this is, said he must have cursed the wine. The first was promising but ever so slightly corked and once you noticed this you couldn’t avoid it. The second bottle was more correct but not (cork aside) as good as the first. A shame, you could though tell in that the first showed real class and texture as well as savoury persistence.

1972 – Oranges and Verdehlo Madeira, a zesty powderiness, it was like must, pretty exhausted, so beyond mature but my note finished “bizarrely enjoyable”.

1974 – This was noted as a rainy vintage like 1967 and 1977. There was sweetness there and dry wood, a good surprise, not serious but really enjoyable.

1976 – Aubert commented that there are others who probably made better '76’s. It was very hot but picked in the rain that finally came. Someone asked about 1976 and 2003 being similar and Aubert felt that 2005 has more in common with 1976 than 2003 does. I like this wine, clean, precise and really quite dense, a great effort.

1978 – Sadly this was not as it should be. A Bual character and drinkable due to some sweetness but… 

  

Flight 4: A lovely flight, clear candidates for the wine of even this night.

1962 – Not correct in colour or tasting

1964 – Wow! Stunning, fresh and pure, red-fruited bliss, energy and life, vibrant. Not heavy just weighted perfectly and balanced, feminine even. Exceptional.

1965 – Some soy and balsamic, nice, on the savoury yet focussed side of things. Some mushroom came out and the colour did brown in the glass, elegant.

1966 – Delicious, nervous, so elegant, sweet yet savoury, some wood and nutmeg, real depth, I could see the ’99 developing this way but then I could say that for the 1964 as well and yet the two wines are quite different.

1969 – I made very few notes here sadly – I had it down as good but lacking a little fruit sweetness.

 
1964 – Another bottle, a little less “red” than the other, very good though, slightly more saline and savoury notes but the same focus. A magnificent bottle on any night but just shaded by the over 1964.

Flight 5: What our host would call mature wines!

1950 – Tea, some orange but lightly so, citrus, sweetness, almost some butterscotch, a little vanilla, lovely, elegant...with air some coffee notes appeared…fascinating. It was very interesting to note that this vintage was all but written off by the critics…it certainly “shouldn’t” be alive now!

1952 – Delicate, lovely, fresh, bright, a little edge to it but there is some volume, fascinating.

1953 – Sadly not in taste-able condition.

Romanee-Conti 1953 – Clean and clear, very very good, very persistent and focussed, real weightlessness but also sweetness. Light and elegant, very fine.

1958 - Sadly not in taste-able condition.

1959 – A dash of caramel, a real similarity of character to the Romanee Conti 1959 tasted a few weeks previously. There is a viscosity and intense sweetness, incredible.

Flight 6:

1937 - Sadly not in taste-able condition.

1943 – Bacon on the nose to a degree, richness but a light framework, in one place. It has an energy albeit delicate…surprisingly long.
Not that any more wine was needed but Jordi always likes to keep the line of vintages going back so we went into the 1920's with:

Climens 1929 – Very much Brulee initially, dried fruits quickly appear, good but fully mature of course.

Doisy-Daene 1928 – Fresher, lovely, toffee apple character even some pecan…

What an evening, a great reward for Jordi's hard work in assembling these bottles. Certainly a tasting I can't imagine will ever be repeated. I don't think anyone has ever doubted La Tache's place at the top table of vineyards in the world let lone Burgundy. Possibly the most true identifier of a great site is the ability to perform year in year out and in a series of different vintage conditions. La Tache does this from extroverts like 2002, 1990, 1959 to the refined and elegant dancers of 1980, 1991 and more…wonderful (however biased I may be)...

The beginning and the end...

Salad and Tartare of Highland Wagyu Beef with Nasturtium and Bouton de Culotte

Ravioli of Wild Mushrooms with Melted Onions, Parsley Oil and Snails

*Mushroom water - this is a note I have started to use a fair bit, it describes the smell you get when soaking dried mushrooms in hot water. This normally signals that Mrs Hargrove is making her mushroom risotto, always a good thing!