Spectacular Wines at Claudes
Sanjay came up to Sydney last night and was looking for someone to drink with. It just so happened that Alex was opening a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee Conti Richebourg 1998 at Claude’s, so he snuck in (along with Neville and Danny, who came bearing gifts).
Claude’s. What can I say? This once great restaurant is no more. The food was awkward, the staff clumsy, confused and inexperienced. Tim, come back, Claude’s needs you!
Still, we had some spectacular wines to drink. To start with, we had a Phillipponnat Clos des Goisses 1992. An explosively rich nose, like a sparkling Montrachet. Lots of sherbet, apples, citrus, smoke and a hint of oak. Showy! A smooth, mouth-filling wine. The mildness of the acid and the relatively short finish are a sign of the year, I think. Drinking well now.
Following this, Danny produced a Louis Roederer Cristal 1982. A beautifully rich nose. Phil gave me a great descriptor: strawberries on toast. The palate, for me, was not as seductive. The structure and intensity were very good, but the fruit was a little tired. The finish had that metallic/iodic character I associate with Champagne on the wain. That said, most of table really enjoyed this wine. Maybe I’m being too critical?
Phil brought forth a Raveneau Chablis “Butteaux” 2003. This had the house style of Raveneau, which I think of as seaweed and sesame oil. Unfortunately, it didn’t have that beautiful razor sharp acidity of previous years. Coming after the more acidic Champagnes and served with seafood, the wine suffered. A good effort for 2003 but I didn’t take much pleasure. Unfortunately, a ‘96 Phil had opened earlier was corked! It wasn’t to be the only bottle…
Following the Chablis, a bottle of Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet 1999 was poured. This is a huge wine. The nose is explosive, immense; it fills your mind with its power. It is noticeably of Montrachet: smoky, with sherbet, linden, citrus, clay. It is young and the wine will gain significant complexity with time. There was so much aroma coming out of the glass. The palate was amazing as well. It is one of those rare wines which you do not (cannot?) think about the technical components like acid, oak treatment, alcohol… Simply, the palate is close to perfection for any Chardonnay lover. If you have any, wait for at least 10 years.
It was time for the reds. A Joseph Drouhin “Romanee-St.-Vivant” 1993 was poured, even though I was concerned that it might be slightly corked. Extended time in the glass proved that this was correct. The confusing thing was, there was a lot of fruit really jumping out of the glass and it was only one in ten whiffs that suggested taint. The finish on the palate was, however, short enough to confirm suspicion. I can put it no other way, this wine broke my heart.
Luckily, Neville had the sommelier fetch a Fourrier Clos St.-Jacques 1996. Wow! Beautiful rich aromas of cherry, cranberry, raspberry. If it wasn’t for the earthiness and even a hint of beetroot, you’d swear blind you were in Chambolle-Musigny. The palate is beautiful: soft, fine tannins almost direct the wine around your mouth, preparing you for the next fork-full of food. The acid is refreshing, the finish long and complex. A great Burgundy.
Then, it was time for the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg. The nose on this wine was a remarkable step up from the Fourrier. All the aromas were recognisably Burgundian: cherries, blackberries, violets, undergrowth and that typical Vosne spice, so reminiscent of paprika. The amazing thing about this wine is, that all those aromas are in one glass. It is 10 wines in one! The palate is very powerful but elegant, like the proprietors of this fine domaine. The most remarkable thing about the palate is, although it is immense and impressive, it is characteristic of the year as well: the tannins are a little chewy and hard, for example. I think it shows great skill, confidence and restraint these days to hold back from just making an over the top, crowd pleasing wine when vintage conditions are poorer than average.
Danny wasn’t about to be converted to a pinotphile though and he produced perhaps the perfect foil to the Burgundy bracket: Chateau L’Evangile 1982. I could smell this wine as it was being poured at the other end of the table. I was amazed by the complexity of the nose: cedar, earth, ink, blood, truffle, plum and blackberry jam, a rich fruit-cake aroma I love in Pomerols. I honestly found it difficult to stop smelling this wine. The palate interested me. It was not as powerful as I was expecting; it was soft with the rich fruit of the nose. It had me thinking about Parker’s comments on acid, that great wine doesn’t need high acid. I wanted more acid in this wine but maybe I wanting a different wine. Regardless, I am humbled by the breathtaking quality of the nose of this wine. Truly spectacular.
Next came a Chateau Cantemerle 1983. This was very Pauillac/St. Julien like, with graphite and cedar dominating the nose. Immensely drinkable, long. Classic claret but not in the same league as the Pomerol.
The final red, a Chateau Pichon Lalande 1994, was unfortunately corked.
It was time for Sanjay to step up to the plate. he produced a Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2002 and a Max Ferd Richter Helenenkloster Riesling Beerenaulese Eiswein 1973. Mon Dieu! These wines blew me away! The TBA was very rich but with youthful, delicious green apple flavors. The eiswein was more aged and had the complete spectrum of Riesling fruit. There was cinnamon, honey, pine apple, glazed figs. The acid! How can I describe it? Dirk Richter wrote to Sanjay with the technical aspects of the wine, it has 11.5g/l of acid! That’s like a 40 year old balsamic vinegar! The wine was so fresh, it might have been bottled yesterday. These wines were very close to perfection. A revelation! Danny even said ‘better than Yquem’, but I think the moment got the better of him!
I would struggle to say which my favourite wine was on the night. Taken as a whole, the wines were spectacular. The best would have been the Leflaive, the DRC, l’Evangile and the dessert wines. I cannot separate them any further. Truly, breathtaking wines all of them.
