In yesterday's post I described the wines tasted at the DRC estate. Today, I describe selected DRC tastings beyond the estate
DRC 2012 Vintage Preview
One of the most highly anticipated events of the 2015 edition of La Paulée de New York was the Domaine de La Romanée-Conti (DRC) 2012 Vintage Preview which was to be held at Daniel and led by the Domaine's co-Director Aubert de Villaine. This event was the first sold out because: (i) of the high esteem in which the Domaine and its wines are held; (ii) it was going to be the first public tasting of this vintage since its bottling; and (iii) given the size of the vintage, there were probably not going to many tasting opportunities of this type in the future. Four of the Domaine's labels were scheduled to be included in the tasting.
Daniel Johnnes (La Paulée founder and Sommelier extraordinaire) introduced the event and then turned the floor over to Jack Daniels, principal of Wilson Daniels, DRCs US importer. Jack added his words of welcome -- to include that the wines had been opened 40 minutes prior and apologizing beforehand for the fact that allocations for this vintage were going to be exceedingly low. He then yielded to Aubert who began with an extensive discusssion of the vintage conditions.
According to Aubert, 2012 had been a vintage of constant change. It was warm in March but then became cold and rainy in April, making it very difficult to work in the vineyards. The vines flowered in the cold weather leading to millerandage. The weather became warm again in June but a heat wave therein caused the loss of some berries. The weather became better in July but then August brought storms. The berries experienced rapid sugar gains in the August- September period. There was no sign of botrytis so they waited to harvest and eventually began on September 21st. It rained for two days during harvest and remained cold. The berry skins were thick, however, and, in addition, the soil did not transfer water to the berries. The final 2012 crop was one-half to one-third the size of a healthy crop.
The wines tasted at the event were as follows:
The RSV was less structured than the Échézeaux. On the nose a floral rose aroma along with ripe Pinot fruit, vanilla, and a hint of reduction. On the palate ripe fruit, complexity, and a long, sweet finish. Somewhat reserved and mysterious. A sense of something hidden.
The La Tâche exhibited layered Pinot fruit, richness, wax, and earth. On the palate strawberry, hot spices, baking spice and a long finish.
The Romanée-Conti had cherry, tree bark, and baking spice on the nose to go along with hot spice and savoriness on the palate. Complexity and power. Long, balanced finish.
In his summarization of the tasting, Aubert indicated that the 2012 DRCs had a tendency towards reduction. They had persistence and depth on the palate and are all approachable at this time. They were recently bottled and he was surprised at how well they have taken to the bottle. They are still young but, even at this early stage, are already displaying their individual characteristics:
Daniel Johnnes (La Paulée founder and Sommelier extraordinaire) introduced the event and then turned the floor over to Jack Daniels, principal of Wilson Daniels, DRCs US importer. Jack added his words of welcome -- to include that the wines had been opened 40 minutes prior and apologizing beforehand for the fact that allocations for this vintage were going to be exceedingly low. He then yielded to Aubert who began with an extensive discusssion of the vintage conditions.
According to Aubert, 2012 had been a vintage of constant change. It was warm in March but then became cold and rainy in April, making it very difficult to work in the vineyards. The vines flowered in the cold weather leading to millerandage. The weather became warm again in June but a heat wave therein caused the loss of some berries. The weather became better in July but then August brought storms. The berries experienced rapid sugar gains in the August- September period. There was no sign of botrytis so they waited to harvest and eventually began on September 21st. It rained for two days during harvest and remained cold. The berry skins were thick, however, and, in addition, the soil did not transfer water to the berries. The final 2012 crop was one-half to one-third the size of a healthy crop.
The wines tasted at the event were as follows:
- DRC Échézeaux Grand Cru 2012
- DRC Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2012
- DRC La Tâche Grand Cru Monople 2012
- DRC Romanée-Conti Grand Cru Monople 2012
The RSV was less structured than the Échézeaux. On the nose a floral rose aroma along with ripe Pinot fruit, vanilla, and a hint of reduction. On the palate ripe fruit, complexity, and a long, sweet finish. Somewhat reserved and mysterious. A sense of something hidden.
The La Tâche exhibited layered Pinot fruit, richness, wax, and earth. On the palate strawberry, hot spices, baking spice and a long finish.
The Romanée-Conti had cherry, tree bark, and baking spice on the nose to go along with hot spice and savoriness on the palate. Complexity and power. Long, balanced finish.
In his summarization of the tasting, Aubert indicated that the 2012 DRCs had a tendency towards reduction. They had persistence and depth on the palate and are all approachable at this time. They were recently bottled and he was surprised at how well they have taken to the bottle. They are still young but, even at this early stage, are already displaying their individual characteristics:
- Échézeaux: character
- RSV: an elegant nose yet austere and hard in the mouth
- La Tâche: layering
- La Romanée-Conti: reserved complexity.
DRC Mini-Horizontal at Bern's
Bern's is one of the most famous mature-wine restaurants in the country, with many wine lovers flying into Tampa to take advantage of its stocks. Winelovers living in the area are loath to have "outsiders" reap all of the bounty of this institution so visit the establishment as often as they can. On one of those trips, Ron, Bev, Parlo and I had ourselves a DRC mini-horizontal.
The first wine tasted in our DRC mini-horizontal was the 2000 Grands Echezeaux. This wine was initially highly floral -- lavender -- to accompany notes of petrol, cherries, and coconut. On the palate this wine was peppery and saline with drying tannins. Initially non-complex, acidic, and lacking a full, round mouthfeel. The finish was medium length. As the wine evolved in the glass, it developed weight but the fruit remained muted and the length remained a challenge. Ron noted cherries and tobacco leaf. He felt that the wine was probably 5 years away from its peak; "It took a while but started to open and strut its stuff." He agreed with my assessment of weight gain over time.
The second bottle was the 2000 Richebourg which was much darker at the core than the Grand Ech and had a floral nose with tar and petrol at the back end. My first thought was that someone had messed up and put a Barolo in a DRC bottle. As the wine evolved, notes of strawberry, watermelon, cigar box and cedar box became apparent. On the palate, spice, great acidity, and a very long finish. This is an extremely high quality wine.
The 2000 La Tâche was even darker at the core than was the Richebourg. Talcum powder and chalkiness on the nose. Over time the talcum powder evolved into soy. Rose petals tea, coffee, burnt tobacco, smoke, coffee grounds, nutmeg, and menthol. Power and weight on the palate along with bright acidity, non-aggressive tannins, and a long, drying finish. Ron characterized this as "another big step up." In his words, "the aromatics really soared after 1 hour in the glass."
The Night the Lights went out at Bern's
Allan Frischman, of Chicago-based Hart Davis Hart Wine Company, was coming into Orlando on business and, as he had never been to Bern's Steakhouse -- a gap in his wine/food experience that he was anxious to fill -- Ron arranged for us to host him at the restaurant. The opening of the Epicurean Hotel across from Bern's has made traveling to Tampa to eat at the restaurant even more appetizing as your bed is only a stone's throw away from a stellar dining/foodie experience.The second bottle was the 2000 Richebourg which was much darker at the core than the Grand Ech and had a floral nose with tar and petrol at the back end. My first thought was that someone had messed up and put a Barolo in a DRC bottle. As the wine evolved, notes of strawberry, watermelon, cigar box and cedar box became apparent. On the palate, spice, great acidity, and a very long finish. This is an extremely high quality wine.
The 2000 La Tâche was even darker at the core than was the Richebourg. Talcum powder and chalkiness on the nose. Over time the talcum powder evolved into soy. Rose petals tea, coffee, burnt tobacco, smoke, coffee grounds, nutmeg, and menthol. Power and weight on the palate along with bright acidity, non-aggressive tannins, and a long, drying finish. Ron characterized this as "another big step up." In his words, "the aromatics really soared after 1 hour in the glass."
The Night the Lights went out at Bern's
Our regular Somm at the restaurant is Brad and before we were fully seated he had appeared with the first of the many wonderful wines that we would have that evening. Now this was a dual purpose visit: (i) the Bern's education of Allan and (ii) drinking a lot of great wine. The wine lists were handed out (a ceremonial process really as we tend to come to the restaurant with a set of defined targets in mind -- wines that have to be drunk before the carpetbaggers drink them all) and Allan remarked that he thought the list would be more commanding in size. Brad left and returned with the list as it used to be in the olden days -- behemoths that had to be chained to the table.
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| Ron and Allan examining a ginormous vintage Bern's wine list |
The second wine poured was the 2000 DRC Grand Échézeaux. This wine was much more rustic in comparison to the La Romanée. It exhibited cinnamon and baking spices along with turpentine, pimento, mocha, coffee, road tar, and animal skin. Over time the mocha and coffee gave way to mushrooms and dried herbs. On the palate, elegant, fine grained, with drying tannins. Layered complexity with a long, elegant finish.
The third wine opened was the 2000 DRC Richebourg. Floral with coriander and cumin on the nose and baking spices layered on top. Coconut oil and orange rind. Sprightly and elfin on the palate though bolstered with an earthiness.
Before the lobster bisque arrived, the lights went out. Luckily this is hurricane country so emergency lights flipped on immediately. The lights stayed off for about 5 minutes during which time Bev kept assuring Allan that this was highly unusual. "This has never happened before," she said. There were no grand announcements from management. No one seemed overly concerned. So I began wondering whether it was a divine message targeted at me. Could it be that some higher power was saying get out while you still can? Bern's has it hands halfway down your pockets but if you leave now you will still be able to feed your family in the future. I looked around but no one else seemed to be paying attention to this voice. So I ignored it. And I paid. Dearly.
With lights once again abundant, we turned to the fourth bottle from the Grand Cru vineyards of Vosne-Romanée/Flagey-Échézeaux, the 2000 DRC La Tâche. This wine was dusky, ephemeral, and muted, with a loose tea leaf note. Expressive on the palate, much more so than on the nose. Bright red fruit. Rich but elegant. Appropriate acidity. Stony minerality with a drying character. Balanced with a tea finish.
As Ron pointed out, the drinking of this bottle of La Tâche signals the end of an era. Brad had told us a few visits ago that we had drunk the last bottle of 2000 La Tâche but then he had found two more cases in the byzantine cellar. He again informed us on Friday night that we had bought the last bottle of the wine. This means that if you ever see this wine on the Bern's list, they would have acquired it at auction ( a non-Bern's original) and it will be priced accordingly.
The third wine opened was the 2000 DRC Richebourg. Floral with coriander and cumin on the nose and baking spices layered on top. Coconut oil and orange rind. Sprightly and elfin on the palate though bolstered with an earthiness.
Before the lobster bisque arrived, the lights went out. Luckily this is hurricane country so emergency lights flipped on immediately. The lights stayed off for about 5 minutes during which time Bev kept assuring Allan that this was highly unusual. "This has never happened before," she said. There were no grand announcements from management. No one seemed overly concerned. So I began wondering whether it was a divine message targeted at me. Could it be that some higher power was saying get out while you still can? Bern's has it hands halfway down your pockets but if you leave now you will still be able to feed your family in the future. I looked around but no one else seemed to be paying attention to this voice. So I ignored it. And I paid. Dearly.
With lights once again abundant, we turned to the fourth bottle from the Grand Cru vineyards of Vosne-Romanée/Flagey-Échézeaux, the 2000 DRC La Tâche. This wine was dusky, ephemeral, and muted, with a loose tea leaf note. Expressive on the palate, much more so than on the nose. Bright red fruit. Rich but elegant. Appropriate acidity. Stony minerality with a drying character. Balanced with a tea finish.
As Ron pointed out, the drinking of this bottle of La Tâche signals the end of an era. Brad had told us a few visits ago that we had drunk the last bottle of 2000 La Tâche but then he had found two more cases in the byzantine cellar. He again informed us on Friday night that we had bought the last bottle of the wine. This means that if you ever see this wine on the Bern's list, they would have acquired it at auction ( a non-Bern's original) and it will be priced accordingly.
We followed up the white Burgs with a red Burgundy flight: 1971 Remoissenet Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, 1966 Leroy Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, and 1983 DRC Richebourg. The Richebourg was musty and moldy with notes of preserved dried cherries and orange rind. Disappointing on the palate. Disaggregated and lacking acidity.
Throwback Brunch at Hyatt La Cocquina
We were excited when the Hyatt Grand Regency Orlando opted to reprise its classic La Coquina Brunch and snapped up a few tickets. So were a lot of other local folks as we ran into a lot of friends who had, like me, come to recapture some of the memories. I was in the kitchen with Adam of wineontheway.com and Eric K., looking over the wine offering of the hotel when we noticed that they had a bottle of 1988 DRC La Tache. We called the manager over and began a discussion about acquiring it. I went back to my table while the Manager went off to consult with his people about the sale of the bottle. The next thing I knew I was called over to the wineontheway table; they had bought the bottle. The wine appeared rather delicate in the glass but the fragrance was powerful. Strawberries and muted red fruits. Firm on the palate but elegant nonetheless. Still youthful. Balanced. Slight drying tannins. This elevated what had already been a glorious day.
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