Four of us got together last month to enjoy an outstanding meal and drink some Burgundies (and a Veneto) at Troquet. Karl wanted to put a 1996 DRC RSV “out of its misery” and Philip, Ben and I jumped at the opportunity to support that wish.
2002 Louis Jadot Batard-Montrachet. This was served a bit cold at first and takes a while to open up aromatically as it comes up to temperature. But to be honest, it never really hits the high notes one might expect, coming across as a bit shut down. It does share with the drinker some aromas of lemon drop candy, mica, green herbs and white gravel stones, but that is about it. It just stays restrained for the most part. It has a rounded, soft texture on the palate but again shows rather young. There is ample raw oak flavor to go with hazelnuts, ripe pear fruit and chalk. One thing that is very exciting is that the wine on occasion seems to find an extra gear of drive and vivacity that can be thrilling, but it just isn’t consistent. One thing it never loses, though, is laser-like focus and balance. I just think we caught this at an awkward time, as the raw material certainly seems to be there.
1996 Fernand & Laurent Pillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens. This was the second of two bottles my wife and I bought at the Caveau de Chassagne in 1998 on the trip to France that started my wine ‘journey’. So, I was very gratified to see how extremely well this showed in this company. It is a bit faded and slightly browning when first poured, but darkens up with time in the decanter. Early on, it has the nicest bouquet of any of the wines on the table—showing very pretty and floral. Aromas of gardenias, dried leaves, iron filings and cranberry yield at times to a core of livelier, sweeter notes of spiced raspberries and warm roasted cherries. It is really warm and inviting, yet shows an impressive control, as well. In the mouth, it is fully-resolved and seamlessly-textured. It feels light and airy, yet it has just enough of a bass note and density of fruit to keep it balanced and substantial. It is pretty, fine and finesse-driven, with a great shot of late citric acidity taming any late tannin that might be hanging around. This is a green light for drinking perfectly now.
1996 Faiveley Latricieres-Chambertin. In contrast, this is a darker color right from the start and has a much earthier and almost brooding sort of aromatic profile. It features some sweaty leather notes, along with mince rhubarb pie, ash and great sous bois characteristics that give it a classic feel. In the mouth, it is masculine and brawny upon entry, but soon fans out through the mid-palate in a much more elegant fashion. It opens with black raspberry and rhubarb fruit, but softens in both texture and tone through the middle, which also pulls in some strong dark wood spices. Tannin is still definitely present and grows more noticeable on the finish, where it contributes to a somewhat smoky, earthy, bitter-edged character. This has a serious tone to it despite the softer mid-palate and certainly has a good deal going on in the dark registers, but I find it to be tightly-coiled and holding back at times. I think it still needs 5 years before checking in again—no rush on this one.
1996 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee St. Vivant. A big thanks to Karl for providing our centerpiece wine. While he did not seem to care all that much for this bottle, the rest of us sure seemed happy enough to drink his share. Of all the wines, this takes the longest to gather itself aromatically. It starts out weedy, murky and mysterious—with some fine nutmeg dusting and dark berry fruit aromas. It also has a very nice spice-rack thing going on, that seems to grow more noticeable over time. Still, it doesn’t seem to hit its stride until about three hours into the meal, where it begins to layer in more pure cherry and cassis red fruit aromas and more complex earth tones. In the mouth, it again starts out with some earthy, stemmy flavors, which are not my favorite, but one cannot help but be captivated by the extremely fine and classy texture the wine displays all the way across the palate. The fruit is cool and reserved and playing it fairly close to the vest—taking an extra intake of air to really liven it up with some lovely spice character. I think we all felt that at times the wine can come across as short on lift through the mid-palate, but the finely-spiced finish largely redeems things with its fantastic length. Again, a little extra air in the mouth seems to help this wine more than any I can remember ever tasting before. In any event, that long spicy finish and the finely-bred texture are the calling cards of this wine, even if it has other shortcomings. For my first DRC, it was not an earth-shaking experience by any means, but I could clearly sense the breeding. I think this just needs a good deal of time.
1996 Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso Ca’ del Merlo Veneto IGT. We waited until the cheese course to tackle this one. It offers up deep aromas of camphor, road tar, dry leather, moist undergrowth, bright incense, rose petals, tomato leaf, menthol, dates and cooked cherries. It is sexy and seamless in the mouth, though still pretty tannic at times. It is certainly dense and opaque-tasting, but despite the density, it drinks smoothly without a preponderance of weight. It demonstrates a good amount of up-front sweetness, but a beefier middle and a clean intense finish. It really fills all the corners of the mouth with warm, expressive fruit flavors and it handles a wide ranges of cheeses by just cutting through easily. It trumpets a late heralding blast of acidity, as well, that keeps the wine fresh and engaging despite its obvious density and fullness of sweet fruit. A fine balancing act.
-Michael