DRC VS LEROY DINNER - Kheam Hock Road (14/12/2019)
A great night. Some of the wines were truly magnificent - the pair of Champagnes, the RC, and the 1993 Leroy RSV were the stand-outs for me. There was no single laggard in the pack though, even the “weakest” wines were very enjoyable.
On a learning note, the RSV character of crushed violets, wood spice, and sweet dark cherry and berry fruit showed out quite clearly across all four of the wines from the vineyard, Leroy and DRC. The Leroy pair of 1993 and 1990 completely outshone their DRC counterparts though. This goes a long way to showing how much DRC has improved their RSV since the late 1990s, when they started selling off poorer barrels or stuff produced from younger wines.
All in all, an absolutely fabulous evening. Wonderful company as always, and really great wines.
A SERIOUS APERITIF
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1990 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon - France, Champagne
En magnum, this was beautiful. The nose was really something, with wafts of biscuity, buttery brioche; a touch of white meat and button mushrooms; some honeyed tones, and then ripe notes of yellow fruit and cooked strawberries - all traced with a little lick of earth and minerality. Very nice. It slipped down really easily on the palate, with gentle mousse and still a good bit of lip-smackingly fresh, lemony acidity wrapped around a rather youthful flavours of ripe yellow fruit and red berry flesh - this infused on the midpalate and finish with a good bit of spice and earthy mineral. It had such depth and effortless power to it, great finish too. There was a nice oily richness on the midpalate and a honeyed maturity on the finish - otherwise it could well have been something a lot younger with its freshness and energy. Superb, if slightly less developed than my last bottle. (94 pts.)
1990 LE MESNIL BLANC DE BLANCS
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1990 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne
Wow and wow and wow. This was so on song tonight, with none of the tired, oxidative characteristics that some other tasters have noted in other bottles. On the night, this wad actually one of the best bottles of Champagne I have had in many years. This came up against a 1990 Krug Mesnil 7-8 years ago and was a shade poorer. Today, this was every bit the Krug’s equal in a rematch. The nose was amazing, with lovely layers of earth and mineral and umami, kumquat rind, white fruit, and lovely clove and white pepper spice. It was on the palate where the wine really, really shone though. It was profound. There was great power, there was superb depth, there was great intensity - but it was more words like “transparent, pure, elegant, effortless”, that came to mind. Amazing. Here, palate-coating mousse and wonderfully integrated acidity enveloped the palate in layer after layer of white fruit, winter melon and little edges of cream and chalk and a kiss of exotic spice. This was one of the most complete and beautifully seamless, integrated champagnes I have ever had. What a finish too. Gentle, elegant, quiet, yet inexorably long. So profound, yet so very elegant. Rounded, intriguing, complete, complex. Amazingly complex I would say. Wow. This was showing beautifully now. (97 pts.) -
1990 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil - France, Champagne
Absolutely lovely. What a privilege to drink this again. The nose was pure Krug magic, with wonderfully rich aromas of honey and caramel and treacle, ripe red apples and yellow fruit, then warm wafts of brioche and butter and spice, this edged with a nice umami edge. Wonderful. The palate was superb. Fresh, youthful, lively, with a real burst of kumquat and lime zest on the attack yielding to deep draws of white fruit and red apple flesh on the midpalate, almost a hint of sour cherries, and then a wonderful long tail of mineral, earth and warm spice at the finish. What a finish too - an incredible length and depth to it, just coating the midpalate and refusing to quit. Power, energy and fullness, yet embued with a noble grace. Wonderful, wonderful stuff - this was every bit as deep and profound as the 1990 Salon in the same flight, perhaps even more powerful and intense, if just slightly less elegantly filigreed. Maybe not as mindblowing as the last bottle I had, but this was as close to a perfect champagne as one gets. This was just a half-step behind the Salon 1990 tonight though, lacking that immense quiet elegance that the other wine had, but it certainly felt that this has a lot more in its tank, while the Salon was at its absolute peak and needed to be drank up. (97 pts.)
OLD NEGOCIANT LEROY
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1970 Maison Leroy Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
Solid and enjoyable. Took awhile to get going, but this was very pleasing when it did. It had a bit of a tight, slightly dusty nose at first, but the bouquet opened up to something rather attractive, with quiet layers of damp earth, lifted spice and dark blueberry and plum fruit, maybe even with a touch of dried violets. Really quite nice. The palate was a step behind the nose perhaps. Still nice, but a touch lean at first, with its structure of acidity and fine-boned tannins showing through fine transparent flavours of black cherries, blueberries and plums. There was a touch of meaty power in there though, opening up with them. It tightened up towards the end too, showing a bit more grippy structure and stony minerality, with notes of black tea along with a little sour cherry lift. Good length and really great persistence I must say. Not perfect, and probably better a few years back, but this was still very impressive for a 1970. (93 pts.) -
1969 Maison Leroy Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Good rather than great - but about as much as one could expect from a 1969 Echezeaux perhaps. A touch funky on the nose, with plenty of sous bois and meat and dried earth, then bits of plums and red cherries, and bits of violets and spice. Nice, if not for the little bit of funk. The palate had a nice polished depth to it, with red dates and cherries, red berries and plums, with nice bits of violets and earth and spice. Still thick and palate coating, more clearly Leroy in style than the 1979 Clos St Denis we had alongside, and very nice on the palate. Not perfect either though, this sang at a rather flatter note at points, but enjoyable nevertheless. Drink up. (92 pts.)
THE BIG GUNS
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1997 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
Really enjoyable, even if this was one of the laggards on the night in terms of sheer power and depth. This had a very distinct nose, very whole cluster, with notes of woody herb, green bramble and stems, along with a beautiful La Tache perfume of violets, blueberries, black cherries and plums, all ringed with a garland of exotic wood spice. Gorgeous, unless one hates anything greenness. I thought this smelt wonderful though. The palate was more about elegance than sheer power, with super-fine tannins and detailed acidity tracing their way through fresh, succulent flavours of black cherries and plums, again infused with lovely stream of fragrant wood spice, earth and a bit of dried flowers. Unfortunately a touch skinny and a bit green, but also so beautifully pure and wonderful integrated, a velvety mouthful of Vosne goodness. Neither the most powerful nor the most voluptuous La Tache, but boy this was enjoyable. (93 pts.) -
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée-Conti Grand Cru
This bottle brought me back to why I fell in love with Burgundy. DRC did really well in 2000, and this was the epitome of their efforts. An absolutely beautiful wine; but in true RC style, this was about all whispers and gentle caresses rather than shouting power or ostentatious display. A wine of emotion, seduction and contemplation. What a nose this had. Damp earth, wet leaves - like the forest floor after an autumn shower - then black cherries and sweet dark berries, a twist of herby bramble, and a lovely quiet stream of Vosne spice that just floated out of the glass. Not showy, but so beautiful. Amazing. The palate was just incredible too. This was what Romanee-Conti is all about. Profound, deep, inexorable, yet completely crystalline, pure and transparent, like a diamond both reflecting and refracting its terroir, showing beautifully composed, almost quiet flavours of black cherries, dark berries, violets and gentle spice, all wrapped in silken robes. Pure, clean perfection. Always subtle, always gentle, always noble, and the balance - this was power without weight, intensity without effort, incredibly complex, yet always so incredibly yummy and easy to drink. A wonderful finish too. Long, quietly intense, yet so effortless and elegant. A special, special wine. Beautifully whole and complete. A whole lot more giving than the 2001 at this stage - this was magic tonight. (99 pts.)
1993 RSV
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1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
A good, solid showing, but rather put in the shade by a fabulous bottle of 1993 Leroy RSV. This had a really nice nose, with black cherries and dark berries, a touch of earthiness, and a lovely infusion of fragrant wood spices. Very DRC. The palate was still very fresh and lovely, with bright 1993 acidity and fine, but firm tannins racing through a lovely rounded mouthful of sweet red cherries and juicy berries, again touched with a good bit of spice and earth as the wine trailed away into a nicely detailed finish. Perhaps just a bit on the leaner side, but otherwise very enjoyable. Charming rather than profound, but this was very yummy. (93 pts.) -
1993 Domaine Leroy Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Absolutely fabulous. What a lovely Leroy nose this had, with beautiful wafts of earth and spice, herb and bramble, and deep draws of blueberries and violets. Amazing. Fantastic palate too, really juicy and bright, with plenty of chewy acidity and fine, powdery tannins lending a wonderful sense of energy and freshness to the wine’s deliciously rich flavours of blueberries and dark cherries. So yummy, with a lovely fullness on the attack and midpalate. Great finish too, with a lovely long
of spice of and a hint of green bramble stretching away into the distance. A beautiful wine drinking at peak - this was fantastic, completely wiping the floor with the 1993 DRC RSV it was paired with. (96 pts.)
1990 RSV
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1990 Domaine Leroy Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Really lovely. This had a very nice nose indeed, with a twist of green bramble and herb, earth and meat, and a nice lift of red cherries, berries and crushed violets. Very Leroy, with that whole cluster character very prominent on the bouquet. Great stuff though. The palate was not quite as compelling as the 1993 Leroy RSV on the flight before, but was still really, really good. The wine layered the mouth with powerful, juicy notes of dark berries, violets and earth, all this draped with a good bit of chewy tannins and decent acidity, and then pulling away with a strong of Vosne spice stretching into a long finish. Strong, powerful and ripe, but with a nice sense of transparency to it nonetheless. This was very, very good, and probably has a few years more of development in its tank. Super. (94 pts.)
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1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Good, but not quite as good as the Leroy from the same vintage that we drank alongside. This had such a nice nose - earth, meat, a touch of crushed violets, dark cherries, and a lovely lift of spice. Lovely. The palate was very nice too, with a round mouthful of blueberries, dark cherries and a beautiful midpalate of Vosne spice and little licks of minerality, all pulling away into a long, powerful finish. Perhaps a bit sterner than the Leroy. There was just a chew of tannins and kumquat peel at the end, a bit clenched, but otherwise, this was a powerful, compelling wine. Lovely without being mindblowing, and starting to drink well now. (93 pts.)
WHITE AND CHEESE
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2002 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
The sole white, and this was really good. The nose was classic Corton-Charlemagne in chapter, but amped up with a dose of Leroy-ness. It showed white chocolate, butter, plump white fruit, garlanded by minerally aromas of chalk and flinty mineral. Lovely stuff. The palate was spot on. Powerful, rich, yet wonderful precise and defined, with deep flows of white fruit, white chocolate and cream, all this flowing alongside a beautiful bedrock of chalky minerality and lovely acidity. Like the nose, classic Corton-Charlemagen, yet with a stamp of Leroy’s richness and generosity. Lovely stuff, drinking so nicely now. This went a treat with both a truffled Brie and some nicely aged Comte. (90 pts.)
A SWEET ENDING
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1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
A beautiful way to end the dinner, even if this was not quite as good as I remembered it to be from a bottle several years back. Still delicious, but this felt a bit more tired. The nose had a lovely lilt of honey, red apples, lanolin and a little hint of spice. Classic. The palate started out rather a bit dry and reticent though. It still had plenty of charm, with honeyed notes of dried apricots, caramel apples, with shades of earth and spice, all riding on a lovely bed of minerality; but this somehow came across as slightly less than generous, with a certain parsimo leanness past the midpalate. Still very charming and enjoyable, but this bottle probably should have been drank up a tad earlier. (93 pts.) -
1968 Quinta do Noval Porto Colheita - Portugal, Douro, Porto
A night cap for late stayers at the end of a ridiculously fabulous evening. Bottles in 2018, this was very nice, if rather shockingly youthful for a 50 year old tawny. The nose had a little drift of alcohol and penicillin, but after that there were nice notes of sultanas, dried dates and figs, and shades of mahogany and almonds. The palate was absolutely dense and concentrated, with a rich, creamy, almost oily texture its flavours of red cherries, cranberries and raspberries, even prunes, all infused with a lovely bit of spice, earth and mineral. There was a lovely energy and verve to it, so much that it seemed almost unsually bright and lively 50 year old tawny, but this was delicious nonetheless. My only complain was that it was a touch less than perfectly integrated, and maybe missed a bit of the mellow roundness of great old tawnies. Otherwise, very nice. (93 pts.)
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