SV: Titta vad som just damp ner i inkorgen.
Here we go again:
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 500 ea
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 375 ea
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 375 ea
3 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 300 ea
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 300 ea
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 250 ea
2 bts Echezeaux Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 275 ea
1 btl Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 680 ea
This is also a wine that I've had the pleasure of enjoying many times since its release and one that offers fantastically rich yet not excessively ripe fruit and flavors with excellent density, concentration and superb length. The breadth of flavors and incredible texture here is outstanding and the wine offers stunning overall quality. A great wine that is only just now beginning to reveal its full potential and while the tannins are finally beginning to soften, the overall impression is one of notable youthfulness. Even though one could approach this now, it will last for decades. 94 pts
2 bts Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 450 ea
1 btl Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 450 ea
Deep ruby. Still aromatically tight and backward with elegant red and black fruit aromas that are followed by middle weight, earthy, reserved flavors and a very firm but not hard finish. With 90 minutes of air, this becomes superbly elegant and spicy with outstanding precision and detail. At this point, this is an intellectual wine as it's only hinting at the ultimate potential and in good storage, it should live for decades. Moreover, given how many '96s are showing today, this has to rank among the best of the vintage. Multiple and consistent notes. 94 pts
1 btl Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 350 ea
2 bts Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 550 ea
2 bts Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 300 ea
2 bts Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 375 ea
4 bts La Tache Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 2600 ea
("a great vintage for La Tâche but several others are its equal, including 1991 and 1999" - AdV). Stunning, massive, full-on, classic La Tâche nose that displays almost unbelievable complexity so with many different elements that it is impossible to even begin to describe them all; the primary components include ethereal and still fresh pinot fruit, clove, knock out spiciness, anise, hoisin, soy and a trace of earth but these elements only hint at the sheer depth. The flavors are big, rich, refined, classy, penetrating and superbly powerful yet everything is in perfect balance and there is more than sufficient sève to balance off the still considerable tannins. The finish is intense, pure and so long that it is haunting; I can literally still taste this wine days later after I've had it because it has such a dramatic and emotional impact. This is one of the finest, perhaps even the finest young Burgundy I have ever been privileged to try and it only seems to get better with each passing year. In short, this is absolutely brilliant. Consistent notes. 99 pts
1 btl La Tache Grand Cru 1994 75cl £ 495 ea
4 bts La Tache Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 1100 ea
3 bts La Tache Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 1400 ea
("it's quite possible that the '96 will be the longest lived of any La Tâche produced in many years" - AdV). Fantastically pure with the classic spice box, hoisin and soy nose followed by big, rich, very structured flavors that display notes of earth, leather and tea. The tannins are big, ripe and are completely buffered by the sap with length that is simply phenomenal. This remains completely primary in character and seems not to have budged at all since it was bottled. A genuinely great vintage for La Tâche that is softer in the mouth than the '96 Grands Ech and this should improve for another decade and last for 50 years. Very classy juice. Note: while it's happened only twice, the '96 can be intensely vegetal on the nose and not exhibit the purity that the wine is justifiably famous for; however, I have tasted so many outstanding bottles of the '96 LT that I view these two examples as outliers.96 pts
3 bts La Tache Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 650 ea
3 bts La Tache Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 2500 ea
Everything that I saw from cask made it into bottle intact and words remain inadequate to describe just how good this wine is. Classic La Tâche in every respect with its incredibly pure, marvelously intense oriental spice box nose, flavors of hoisin and pure pinot extract of indescribable complexity and length. The big tannins are completely wrapped in velvet and the finish simply does not quit. Destined to become one of the all time great vintages of La Tâche. 98 pts
3 bts La Tache Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 650 ea
3 bts La Tache Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 800 ea
Strikingly extravagant nose of rose petals, oriental spices, pungent tea and leather notes plus ultra elegant pinot fruit. The powerful, chiseled, pure flavors are remarkably detailed, precise and fine with mind bending complexity yet for all the emotional drama of this wine, it remains understated and almost aloof at the moment. The finish is dense, structured and quite firm though there is nary a hard edge to be found and while this too cannot rival the other worldly 1999, 2001 will one day be thought of as a genuinely excellent vintage for La Tâche. In short, aristocratic in every sense. 96 pts
3 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 1500 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 750 ea
1 mg Richebourg Grand Cru 1995 150cl £ 1600 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 1200 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 490 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 1450 ea
Practically black with a supersaturated multidimensional nose of black cherries, spice and trace of new oak. Bigger and larger scaled than the RSV and much more linear and direct, it is the richest, most robust wine in this lineup with decidedly muscular tannins. The flavor profile is somewhat austere yet the length is phenomenal and this could be the longest lived wine among these in '99. This has as much potential as any DRC Richebourg I've ever had. 95 pts
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 425 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 460 ea
2 bts Richebourg Grand Cru 2002 75cl £ 1000 ea
This is pungently floral with fresh rose notes nuanced by intense red fruits and a deep, wonderfully attractive plumy hint followed by powerfully spiced flavors that offer impeccable balance and real muscle plus a sappy, palate staining finish. The tannins are extremely fine in this vintage and there is a lovely suppleness to the mid-palate without its usual robustness; in fact, there is a pretty textured quality to the structure. This is not to suggest that there isn't plenty of vigor and intensity here, only that this is decidedly more refined than usual, which makes it all the classier. 95 pts
4 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 800 ea
2 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 475 ea
3 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 475 ea
2 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 550 ea
2 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 600 ea
2 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 450 ea
2 bts Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 450 ea
This displays a positively classic nose of soaring Asian spices, ripe plum and a gamut of ripe, pure and lacy red and black fruits with the latter predominating all wrapped together with a seductive kiss of sweetly scented, highly perfumed violets; the nose is, in a word, intoxicating. All of this aromatic intensity leads to remarkably powerful, linear, borderline robust flavors that show simply unbelievable complexity and stunning length. This will very likely surpass every other RSV from the Domaine in recent memory. A dazzling effort. 96 pts
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 1990 75cl £ 7400 ea
Medium ruby color. Initially, this is aromatically tight and closed but after 2 hours, it absolutely explodes from the glass with a breathtaking panoply of Asian spices, exotic fruit aromas and a touch of earth followed by rich, lush, almost opulent flavors that melt in the mouth and coat the palate with a layer of velvet on the fantastically long finish. This is a dramatic wine in every sense of the word yet it's not at all showy but rather discreet and understated. I particularly like the sense of inner power and purity of expression and this is as good a post '45 RC as I ever hope to drink. It should last for another 50 years and if you ever have the chance, don't miss it! Save for one so-so bottle, I have very consistent notes. 99 pts
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 1995 75cl £ 3650 ea
An opulent, spicy, lush, highly floral and powerfully complex nose merges seamlessly with deep, classy, sappy, simply gorgeous, fresh flavors that offer incredible depth and purity of expression. Classy, pure and the length doesn't seem to quit. The 95 isn't an especially big wine and though it's by no means shy, the breadth of flavors and underlying nuance seems endless. If there is a nit, there is just a hint of finishing dryness that disappears with food but a careful taster will notice it. Otherwise, this is extremely impressive and though it can be approached now with extended airing, I would continue to cellar it and there is no question in my mind that it should continue to age effortlessly for years. 95 pts
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 1996 75cl £ 4000 ea
This is backward to the point of being almost inexpressive though with extended airing, subtle aromas of black fruit, hoisin, spice, underbrush, anise and violets frame understated, refined, elegant and classy flavors of incredible breed and fantastic complexity. This will live for decades and it is so young that it hasn't even begun to reveal what it will ultimately be capable of delivering. And like the 2001 version, the transparency here is nothing short of remarkable. In short, opening a bottle anytime before 2012 will indeed be egregious infanticide and as the drinking window suggests, patience is required, or if need be, at least three hours of in a decanter. Consistent notes. 96 pts
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 1997 75cl £ 3400 ea
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 4800 ea
Vibrant, pure, spicy, distinctly floral and unusually high-toned for the vintage with big, powerful and concentrated almost to the point of painful intensity with its super ripe, palate staining flavors yet this remains regal, almost aloof and quite reserved on the hugely long finish. The focus in unbelievable and while it's hard to speak of subtle power, one can sense the vibrancy and depths of reserve that are still only hinted at now even eight years after the vintage. As seductive as the nose is and as awe-inspiring as the flavors are, the finish lasts literally for minutes, indeed I could still taste it the next day and I've noticed that this happens every time I am fortunate to have the '99. And, difficult as it is to believe, I'm beginning to believe that my score is conservative. 98 pts
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 2000 75cl £ 3250 ea
1 btl Romanee-Conti Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 3550 ea
What was a brooding, reserved, somewhat austere yet classic nose has become highly perfumed with picture perfect aromas of red and black fruits cut with lavish spice and aromatic nuances plus subtle touches of earth, soy and hoisin that combine to create a bouquet of simply stunning complexity. The purity and detail are flat out incredible with nuanced, multi-layered flavors wrapped in pinot sap and culminating in an awe-inspiring finish. Silk, velvet and mouth coating sap completely buffer the ripe structure and this RC possesses what all of the great ones do - absolutely perfect harmony; this is seamless and there are no edges. It is as it were a perfect sphere with a haunting finish that I could taste hours later. This too is destined to be a great wine and the distinguishing aspect of this wine is its virtually unmatched transparency. There is certainly no vintage in the last 20 years with the possible exception of the 1996 that can match it in this regard. 97 pts
1 btl Le Montrachet Grand Cru 1999 75cl £ 1575 ea
1 btl Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2001 75cl £ 1500 ea
2 bts Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2002 75cl £ 1575 ea
Highly reticent but seriously complex aromas of limestone, apple, pear and white flowers perfectly complement the big, rich, powerful yet very tight full-bodied flavors that possess simply superb detail and cut. This is one muscular, massively constituted wine of profound depth and concentration that possesses near perfect balance and a finish that simply doesn't stop. This will require at least a decade to come into its own and should live for another 20 years after that. In short, this has that "wow" factor and may rival the other worldly 1996. 97 pts