Côte de Nuits

• Vosne-Romanée

Pop and pour, this was surprisingly open and accessible.  Deep ruby in color, clear and bright.  This is big and bold.  On the nose, cherries, sandalwood, some black cherries and baking spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, lots of fresh cherries and sour cherries with some underlying char.  Delicious and vital.  Long finish.  This seems to be a five to ten years from full maturity but drinking well.  It is great on its own and would delicious with salmon or tuna.  

Sadly this was corked (TCA).  Underneath it seemed like a very good, bold wine with plenty of depth.  The TCA showed up almost immediately and but 30 minutes in, it was overwhelming.  

Great showing for this wine and in a perfect place of maturity.  Garnett in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is beautifully perfumed with cherries, cinnamon, sandalwood and slight earthiness.    Full bodied.  On the palate, this clean with bright cherry fruit.  Some underlying earthiness.  Levels of complexity.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This has big fruit.  The oak is now integrated and the tannins are silky.  Everything one could want in a Grand Cru at age 20.  It drinks great on its own.  Contemplative.  It also worked well with food.  While it might last longer, drink over

Tasted two bottles of this.  They were part of a cellar purchase from which most of the bottles had been in excellent shape.  On opening, this was old and off a bit.  With a couple hours of air, it improved quite a bit although never got to the point of not being past prime.  Depending on one's level of enjoyment from wines with this much age, it seemed mostly a miss among the tasters.  I enjoyed it for what it offered.

This kept improving after the cork was pulled but it took at least an hour to blow off its bottle stink.  At the two hour mark it finally hit its apogee.  If opening soon, give it some air.  From a vintage that does have its issues, this showed very well.  Ruby in color with some browning, clear.  The nose initially had some wet cardboard, but thankfully that blew off, so doubtful it was an off bottle.  In fact, at the two hour mark it showed cherries, dust, cedar and slight dry forest floor.  Medium bodied.  At the two hour mark, the palate had nice cherries, some slight macerated cherries

Hard to beat Gouges for a combination of price, quality and ageability in Burgundy.  At age 19, this one is still youthful although drinking well.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, some black cherries, slight sandalwood and just a hint of funk.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has depth and complexity.  Cherry fruit with some earthiness underneath.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  This should continue to drink well for another decade.  It drinks well on its own but will work better with food.  Roast chicken would be a nice match.  

Crazy history on this winery but I am not going into that here.  This particular bottle was very nice.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, spice, and slight smoke.  Maybe a hint of funk.  Medium bodied with slight tannins.  On the palate, this is mature and drinking well.  Cherries, slight rhubarb and earthy undertones.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This should continue to drink well for another eight to ten years.  Lamb chops would work well.  

Garnet in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is quite tight.  Even with a lot of coaxing, this seemed closed for business.  On the palate, this is a bit more open, especially with some air.  Black cherry fruit, some cherries and spice.  Good mouthfeel and balance.  Long finish.  This needs another five to ten years and should drink well for ten to fifteen after that.  This would work well with a Wild Mushroom Risotto.  

Very nice showing for this.  It seems to be just about at peak right now.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, black cherries and slight baking spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, light tannins.  Black cherry fruit with some spice.  Complex with tight layering.  Great mouthfeel.  Long finish.  This should drink well over the next ten to twelve years.  This will work well with aGarlic-butter Roast Chicken.  

The neck tag on this said 1978 but the label said 1981 so...  A bit of research seems to suggest this is 60% Aligote, 25% Chardonnay, and 15% Pinot Gouges.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a lot of mushrooms along with a bit of citrus and a burnt almond quality.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the citrus and burnt almond quality come out.  There is some life here but not a lot.  Still an interesting wine to try.  Drink up if you have any.  Giving it the respect it deserves, share this wine with friends without food and have a back up bottle.  It doesn't seem fair to