Dude, it was so cold in New York. Tuesday, the day after my evening arrival, started off a relatively balmy 39 but, as the day wore on, it got colder and colder. My sister and I, following a delightful pasta lunch at Eataly on Sixth Ave curled south onto Seventh from like 20th, face first into the teeth of what felt like an Arctic gale. Luckily we found sanctuary from the relentless chill in a church about a block down. But instead of a welcoming priest offering us a blanket and a glass of something warm, we had to pay $6.50 for a cup of Earl Grey as this once-gorgeous church had been converted into a mini-boutique shopping mall featuring gourmet coffee, the tea stand, gelato (not so busy) and a wine bar. There aren’t many churches where you can drink Zweigelt by the glass while looking out a stained glass rose window.
My reason for being there had to do with two tastings: a Tuesday morning Master Class at a mid-town Hilton sponsored jointly by the Vino Nobile, Chianti Classico Riserva and Brunello di Montalcino consortia led by Kevin Zraly (followed by a giant tasting of several hundred wines) and Domaine de la Romanee Conti’s annual tasting of the new vintage hosted by the domaine’s director Aubert de Villaine.
The former event probably deserves more attention than I will give it now. Suffice to say that the wines were intriguing- the 2006 Brunello vintage as good as advertised and the 2007 vintages of Riserva Chianti and Vino Nobile, maybe not. And I wish Kevin Zraly, with a room full of wine writers and educators in front of him, had decided not to spend his hour and half doing a poor version of wine stand-up and focus more on his well-chosen line up of extraordinary bottles.
The main event was a formal affair in Del Posto’s Barbaresco Room (maybe the first time that this much Burgundy has ever sullied this Mecca of Nebbiolo) on Wednesday morning. The California contingent (friends Andrew from SPQR, etc, Alan from Massa, Raj from, well, Raj, Inc. and myself) distinguished ourselves by being the only ones at the tasting without neckties (dude, it was like 20 outside...I wore a heavy sweater and a scarf) while the New York wine glitterati looked great in their suits and dresses all seated around a single king’s table in the center of the room. Space was tight and I lived in fear of either elbowing the taster next to me or spilling all of my Echezeaux on the table in front of the vibrantly cheerful Lettie Teague or intensely focused Eric Asimov.
The always understated de Villaine spoke at length about the 2008 vintage, the cool spring that resulted in a significant degree of millerandage (the small irregularly sized clusters that are often the harbinger of great harvests) and the ‘miracle of Burgundy’ late September that cured many of the ills that plagued a wet, mold-and-botrytis-ridden summer that, at one point, threatened the entire harvest. As usual at this address, the grapes were sorted nearly down to the berry, and 30-40% of an already-culled harvest never even made it past the sorting table.
The harvest has clearly pleased the Domaine and, even though de Villaine could find no direct correlate with which to compare 2008, he stunned the room (or was having his way with us, perhaps?) by dropping a 1978 bomb. Yes, I agree these will be very long-lived, perhaps even spectacular, wines but I don’t think 2008 is another 1978. The wines are, indeed, very pure, focused Pinot Noirs with ravishing aromas, uncommon minerality and very firm acids. I can say with some certainty, these are not wines for those interested in drinking their DRC young. Apparently, even though the bottles opened in LA several weeks ago showed more generously than this New York set, the 2008s will never be confused with those bang-up 2005s and, if de Villaine’s assessment is any indication, the dark, unctuous 2009s. Still, this is a Burgundy-lover’s vintage and those who collect the wines will need to have these in their cellar. And if de Villaine’s ‘1978’ comment proves prescient, in twenty years these may be modern-day classics.
I also have to say that after six vintages of tasting these wines in this format, I always find it a fun and intellectual challenge. I do believe that each of the DRC cuvees is not only remarkably true to its terroir, it is a pure, empirical bellwether of a given vintage. Even though I have tried a score of 2008 reds already, I only now think I understand the vintage, in Vosne that is.
Here are my notes:
*2008 Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet
The sixth vintage of this essentially declassified Grand Cru cuvee since 1999, this wine is made up of second pickings of the old vines from the Grand Crus and some younger vines. de Villaine says this wine ‘announces the quality of the vintage’ and so it is in 2008. Exotic, immediately appealing nose of sexy cinnamon stick and something floral. Cool, candied raspberry fruit. Palate is lean and high toned with crushed stones and dried raspberry. As it turns out, the elements of this nose are a theme throughout the tasting. **+
*2008 Echezeaux
Limpid, pure color (2008 is not a dark vintage but the wines are gorgeous to look at)…lower toned than the Vosne with base notes of something darker and more pungent. Elegant, fresh and hauntingly pretty fruit that gains in intensity as it airs. Cherry, tea, a bit of orange…a wine of finesse. I think this is a great Echezeaux. ****
*2008 Grands Echzeaux
Once again this is the black sheep of the tasting. Initially quieter on the nose with a slight rustic side. Much bigger on the palate- evocative (in a good way) of Nuits St. George- with a bit of earth and game. Ferrous-blood, orange peel and lots of mineral. This is a big wine and will probably eventually grow into its outsized self. ***?
*2008 Romanee- St. Vivant
This is an exceptional RSV. Nose harkens back to the Echezeaux with plenty of floral-cinnamon notes pushed out by a frame of mineral-driven acidty with more sheer intensity than any of the above: the muscle of Grands but not the weight creating something both diaphanous and substantial. Tannic, young and vibrant! ****
*2008 Richebourg
A muted, closed-in-tight wine that’s both monolithic and acidic. It is in the wine’s finish where its quality, length and potential shows. Promising but tough to evaluate today. Funny, I’ve written this several times before about Richebourg. ?
*2008 La Tache
La Tache always seems to me to take the best attributes of every other wine and distill them into something unique and wonderful, and that is again the case in 2008. The sexy aromatics (a head shop filled with sandalwood and sitar music), violets, muscle, mineral, ferrous-blood, orange peel…..all swirling within this gorgeous not-big-but-not-lean texture. Stunning acidity….emotive wine. ****
*2008 Romanee Conti
Decadent nose- exuberant and pretty once, closed down and coquettish again. Dry, pure, focused showing the barest hints of the ravishing wine it will one day become. Will it be a second coming of 1978? Got $4000 to find out? I don’t. ****
*2008 Montrachet
The Chardonnay suffered none of the maladies of the Pinot Noir and the yields were much higher. This is absolutely massive. So much intensity- almost painful to drink. How can a wine be so powerful and rich- almost like a confection- yet have so much backbone? One taster worried that it was too big and exotic but I think he missed the impressive underpinning of acidity…..it would be an easy mistake to make! **** (!)
