2005 DRC event
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Richebourg 1983
Opened and served immediately. Tasted with La
Tache 1983.
Like the ’83 La Tache this is a ripe, elegant wine
that is hitting on all cylinders. All of its
component pieces are aligned and the result is
remarkable. The acidity and the tannins are
rounder and less piercing than those of La Tache.
In the rarified air that we are breathing tonight,
this wine is delicious but monolithic. It has
broader shoulders and is more of a mouthful and
a bit less shy than the La Tache. That being said,
the taste is fantastic. Its appeal is in its size as
opposed to the subtlety of the La Tache. For
many in the group, it is the wine of the night so
far.
Opened and served immediately. Tasted with La
Tache 1983.
Like the ’83 La Tache this is a ripe, elegant wine
that is hitting on all cylinders. All of its
component pieces are aligned and the result is
remarkable. The acidity and the tannins are
rounder and less piercing than those of La Tache.
In the rarified air that we are breathing tonight,
this wine is delicious but monolithic. It has
broader shoulders and is more of a mouthful and
a bit less shy than the La Tache. That being said,
the taste is fantastic. Its appeal is in its size as
opposed to the subtlety of the La Tache. For
many in the group, it is the wine of the night so
far.
Interested in hosting a Candid Event
for your customers? Please contact
Damien.
for your customers? Please contact
Damien.
| Comments from Aubert de Villaine: AdV: This wine should be fully mature, an example of what age does. This wine went through a period similar to the 1986’s during which the flavors and aromas disappeared for five or six years before remerging. It was twelve before it rewarded those who tasted it. I will be curious to hear your impressions on this wine. It should be tasting beautifully. It was a good year. It can’t believe 40 years have passed. I remember the harvest like it was yesterday. |
Richebourg 1966
Opened, decanted for sediment and served
directly.
What a treat, but what a scare at first. The cork
is in bad shape and the fill is 6 centimeters below
the cork. The nose is dirty and smells like a
humid, somewhat rotten basement. Its bad
enough that we are afraid it might be shot. It is
a wine that will teach us about patience. All of
the wines from the Domaine have been living,
breathing beings. To borrow some of Aubert de
Villaine’s symbolism this wine has been locked up
for thirty nine years and when first let out, its in
a bad mood. Fifteen to twenty minutes later, it is
pure happiness; elegant, long, complex and
absolutely gorgeous. When I make a spice rub, I
try to think about the different sizes and shapes
of flavors. Brown sugar and coffee are broad;
fennel and ginger are bright. This wine has them
all. It is a perfect balance of breadth, brightness,
depth and complexity. I’ve never made anything
like this. Still alive and evolving this is a wine
that demonstrates the futility of scores and
ratings for wines of a certain class. I can only
have an emotional reaction to a wine like
this.
What must the 1966 La Tache taste like today? I
have the impression that La Tache is the vineyard
that is the most structured and needs the most
time of those we have tasted. With age, the
acidity, tannin and minerality seem to give way
to the fruit in the wines, but even the ’83 had
something of a double personality where fruit
and structure were still separate pieces. The ’66
La Tache must be nothing short of divine.
Opened, decanted for sediment and served
directly.
What a treat, but what a scare at first. The cork
is in bad shape and the fill is 6 centimeters below
the cork. The nose is dirty and smells like a
humid, somewhat rotten basement. Its bad
enough that we are afraid it might be shot. It is
a wine that will teach us about patience. All of
the wines from the Domaine have been living,
breathing beings. To borrow some of Aubert de
Villaine’s symbolism this wine has been locked up
for thirty nine years and when first let out, its in
a bad mood. Fifteen to twenty minutes later, it is
pure happiness; elegant, long, complex and
absolutely gorgeous. When I make a spice rub, I
try to think about the different sizes and shapes
of flavors. Brown sugar and coffee are broad;
fennel and ginger are bright. This wine has them
all. It is a perfect balance of breadth, brightness,
depth and complexity. I’ve never made anything
like this. Still alive and evolving this is a wine
that demonstrates the futility of scores and
ratings for wines of a certain class. I can only
have an emotional reaction to a wine like
this.
What must the 1966 La Tache taste like today? I
have the impression that La Tache is the vineyard
that is the most structured and needs the most
time of those we have tasted. With age, the
acidity, tannin and minerality seem to give way
to the fruit in the wines, but even the ’83 had
something of a double personality where fruit
and structure were still separate pieces. The ’66
La Tache must be nothing short of divine.
| Comments from Aubert de Villaine: A. dV: I personally have always been very fond of this vintage. It was a year marked by hail storms in August that damaged vines across the Domaine. 1983 is often dismissed by critics but I have always enjoyed the wines. We spent everyday between the storms and harvest removing damaged grapes from clusters with typographer’s tweezers in the vineyards of Romanée-Conti, La Tache and Richebourg. We did not have time to pass through the others. (DC: This avoids rot and saves the rest of the cluster). DC: Have you noticed a difference over time between the vineyards you cleaned and those you missed? A. dV: We have never found a discernable difference. You know, there are so many factors that go into making great wine; one cannot conclude that a single action in the vineyard is directly responsible for a particular characteristic of the wine. DC: Would you do the same today? A. dV: Yes. Each decision must be guided by a philosophy that puts quality above all else. Because you cannot know which action is the key to quality that year, you must always do everything in your power to do that which experience teaches is best. We would go through the vineyards again as we did in 1983. |
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