Bang

Went to a wonderful tasting last night as part of the Tasting Australia program. Tasting Burgundy it should have been called. We had a look at some 2012 Heavy Hitters.

2012 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru: Ferrous and black fruit aromas. It is a tannic wine but has good flesh. There are spiced plum and menthol notes, excellent depth and a long, chewy finish. Classic Clos Vougeot that got better and better in the glass.

2012 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées: Immediately expressive with a nose of pomegranate, raspberries, sandalwood and white flowers. It was luscious and creamy in the mouth, with a core of sweet red fruits. It had minerally bones and a fresh finish.

2012 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Echezeaux, Grand Cru: Some matchstick reduction at first. It blew off quickly to reveal a delightful wine of red fruit intensity and aniseed spice. It quietly builds through the palate, possessing plenty of floral nuance. The finish is fine and long.

2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux, Grand Cru: Quite stemsy with some herbal notes. It is complex and detailed, with loads of minerality and fine, red fruit flavours. It is still quite youthful and the finishes is super-spicy.

2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant, Grand Cru: Absolutely textbook RSV. Super-fine and lacy, with delicious red berry and cherry fruit flavours. The nose is full of dried flowers and palate voluminous and expansive. It finishes with terrific cut and has superb persistence.

2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, Grand Cru: The first sniff reveals aromas of sandalwood, spiced plum and menthol. It is rich, sappy and deep in the mouth. Still quite compact and strict. There’s flesh held in check by the wine’s ample structure. Balance is superb and it has so much potential. Needs time.

2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, Grand Cru: Ready to play as soon as it was poured. Complex aromatics of Hoisin, dark fruits, smoked meats and rose petal. It is rich, full and powerful without carrying any excess fat. It has such great presence and drive, with spice laden fruits lingering on the palate for a long time after swallowing.

2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti, Grand Cru: Flawless. Gorgeous nose of cherry, pomegranate, smoked meats, dried flowers and mineral. It is so fine and so complete. Every sip reveals another subtle nuance and it is weightless with latent power. Tannins simply occupy a space and the acid balance is sheer perfection.

2012 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair La Romanée, Grand Cru: A spice laden nose showing a hint of aniseed and some sarsaparilla root. It has a deep, penetrating core of black cherry fruit. It is rich, powerful and layered but light on its feet. It has such great presence and energy and is a thing of sheer beauty.

We headed out for a meal after the tasting, where a good friend thought the only way to come down from the high of Romanée-Conti and La Romanée was with a Magnum of 2013 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet, Grand Cru. He is a wise man.

2013 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet, Grand Cru: From Magnum this was so good. Aromas of intense white peach, spearmint cream, vanilla pod and flint. It is rich and layered, incredibly powerful and rich but not heavy in the slightest. The finish drives on and on and oozes minerality.

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Some serious kit there!

How do you rate the 12s in comparison to say 08, 09, 10, 13 and 14?

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That was going to be my question as well…

Brodie

These were all terrific, obviously we are at the top-end here. The fruit of 2012 is bright and juicy. There is certainly some cooler elements to the wines but decent phenolic ripeness to me. I quite like 2008, but I am a bit of an acid freak. 2009 is the ripest of the vintages you have listed and a very good one in my book. The wines are just starting to shine, showing nice perfume. 2010 is excellent. 2013 quite pure and classic, and over-looked by many. I really like 2014 in both colours. I haven’t been very helpful here fellas, finding beauty in all of the vintages listed. When the maker and terroir is good, there are very few fails, just the vintage variations, which I like to experience.

Cheers
Jeremy

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OK, you win!! Great wines and notes. Thanks

Very nice Jeremy. A fine day indeed and how to top it off with a Ramonet Montrachet. A beautiful example of how life is good and on some days, even better.

Jeremy always wins. I’ll never see or have any of these. [cry.gif]

I was just at a DRC tasting with an '85 and '78 La Tache, which I have yet to write up. I could not believe that smoked meat thing, amazingly pronounced at one point, though the wines kept changing in the glass. The “rose petal dust,” as I thought of im in the '78 was also a thrill.

Nice…

I think this is the first time ive ever heard “oozes minerality”, which only jumped out because I picture them as opposites. and because im just jealous of what a great tasting this must have been.

I appreciate Jeremy’s notes and descriptors, especially over the recent past year or so. Thank you, Jeremey.
P.S. a bit moot though as I’m never tasting those wines!

Nice one Jeremy.

How big would you characterize the quality gap between the DRC and Meo Camuzet? Larger or smaller than expected? I think many look at this and (like me) see a glimpse of affordability with Meo Camuzet that is just not there for DRC.

not much to say but enjoyed the vicarious thrills reading.

+1 re what Alan said

Great note! I have a bottle I’m saving for a business milestone that should occur in the next 1-2 years. Would you open another one right now if you had it or hold for longer term ageing? I purposely bought the '12 for this occasion with the expectation that it would be drinking really well about 10 years out.

I think “Kaboom” would have been a better title than bang.

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Hi Chris,

I thought the Clos de Vougeot stacked up really well and it wasn’t outclassed in the company. We did the two Meo wines together, and most at the table preferred the Brulees. It was certainly so sensual and giving. I preferred the CdV and when we went back to the Meo wines after the DRC’s the CdV was the better of the two (in my less than humble opinion).

Meo’s CdV is expensive but it is seriously good. I reckon people shy away from CdV because it is a large Grand Cru and there are some irregularities, but Meo’s is true vin de guarde and still good value for its quality. The 2017 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot Près le Cellier is stonkingly good if you can find it.

Cheers
Jeremy

Hi David,

It feels like it is just entering a very long drinking window. I suspect it will be beautiful in a year or two.

Cheers
Jeremy

Well done Jeremy. I had a few bottles of 2012 LT/RC a few years ago and they were both wide open for business and extremely pleasurable. Glad to have 3 more of the DRC offerings in the cellar and looking forward to them very much.