15 Oct 2011: Casual supper at home with a few friends. Rummaging through the cellar at home, we thought we would do a horizontal of 2000 Corton Charlemagne and a vertical of Romanée Saint Vivant (by different winemakers). Might I just begin by saying how disappointing it was to realise that the probability of finding a bottle that wasn't out of of condition, was less than 50%, more like 2 out of 5! Two bottles by Faiveley were affected by cork taint and the bottle by Bruno Clair was madeirised. Of the two that were ok, I liked the de la Vougeraie, just a touch more than the Simon Bize.
2000 Corton-Charlemagne, de La Vougeraie: the wine needed a little time to open up to reveal its green apple, citrus, mineral nose, with a hint of dried blossoms and faint toasty character. Pure and precise, lovely minerality, mid-weight, nicely rounded with mouth-coating texture, but not fatty. Nice stylish finish. 16.5/20
2000 Corton-Charlemagne, Simon Bize: Much tighter and racier than the Vougeraie's version, showing much more steely character, overlaid with citrus and green apple. Tasting a little mean and austere still, but nicely structured with the light-handed use of oak and very minerally. Persistent finish. This wine should benefit from further cellaring. 16/20
Then we had a vertical of Romanée-Saint-Vivants (by different winemakers):
1985 Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Alain Hudelot-Noëllat: Beautiful mature bouquet of savoury, mushroom, violet. Silky texture, with just enough acidity and softened tannin holding up the structure and freshness. Tasting now, it's a beauty, classy and reminded us of what Romanée-Saint-Vivant was about: silky elegance, classy beauty, understated power (relative to Richebourg), with a mesmerizingly perfumed bouquet. This 1985 beauty in its state now totally epitomised this description. Lovely sweet and lingering finish, a little drying. I would drink this wine now and for next 2 - 3 years to enjoy at peak. 17.5/20
1989 Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Michel Voarick (in magnum): a little funky and gamey, featuring Asian spice and some floral character, and a faint bretty note. Well-made, still tasting fresh, but did not quite have the poise, elegance, class nor bouquet to endear us. A touch simple. Drink now. 15.5/20
2000 Romanée-Saint-Vivant, de l'Arlot: An attractive nose of black fruit and spice, some floral. On the palate, lacks the body, intensity or complexity of the 2002 Confuron RSV. Velvety-textured, demure and well-crafted, but perhaps a little simple and lacking in character. Drink now and for next 5 - 6 years. 16/20
2002 Romanée-Saint Vivant, Jean-Jacques Confuron: Aromatically very enticing and powerful: spicy, floral and just beginning to show animal character. Packed with ripe pinot fruit and fine and beautifully integrated tannin, giving the wine a velvety texture and a weighty palate. Full of balanced richness, purity, elegance and class. Drink now and for next 10+ years. Eric said it would be like the 1985 Hudelot-Noellat RSV then! 17.5/20
We actually preceded these RSV's with a bottle of 1989 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which was simply fabulous: sweet spicy black cherry fruit, tobacco, leather, and liquorice. Lovely concentrated fruit, showing intensity, complexity, harmony and a very long finish. Drink now and for the next 10+ years! 18/20 (Easily the red of the evening, thank you Eric!)
Apart from the 1989 Beaucastel which was tasted blind and served by Eric, all the other bottles were plonked on the table and self-serviced. Perhaps thinking that the 1985 should be the superior wine of the pair from the 80's and the 2002 the superior of the pair from the last decade, I tasted in this order: 1985, 1989, 2002, 2000. As a result, my scoring could have been a little unfair to the 1989 and 2000. I could only justify by saying that the superior wines rather set the benchmark for what great burgundies (indeed a Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru) could achieve, in terms of complexity, concentration, density and in the case of the 1985 the ageing potential (a very well-preserved 26-year-old!). I thought all the wines demonstrated very well the vintage characteristics and the better wines this evening were classic examples of the vineyard characteristics. I love these rather educational evenings!
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