2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru (9/12/2008) Cork pulled and tasted. At first, it was very funky, but not like a corked wine. The funk blew off quickly, and the flavor showed nice fruit. At that point, the wine was decanted and revisited in one hour and a half. The color showed a garnet wine with a watery edge. It started off a little reserved in the nose. At first, there was licorice, a little refined ripe bing cherry fruit, and pipe tobacco smoke. It was very complex, indescribable. Not a block-bluster video, i.e.: not obvious, but lots going on in the glass. Very complex, to the point of being ADHD; the wine had a purpose, but was a little all over the place. I enjoyed it, but it was hard to follow. Over the next hour, it gained more focus, the licorice and pipe tobacco smoke showed some resolve. Additionally, I picked up an incense note. The incense was subtle at first, and added a spicy character to the wine, but was not a dominant feature, more of a tease than a primary player. The body was full figured, not fat, but round and rich. There was an elegant sweetness, but the wine was not about finesse. There was no mistake that I was drinking a powerful wine, but at the same time it was not overbearing. There was a good balance of ripeness, structural tannins, and a good lift from the acidity, but no dominant player. After 2 hours open the wine started to take on a rhubarb aromatic. At first, it was a pleasant note, but within half an hour it dominated the tobacco smoke, fruit, licorice, incense aromatics to the point of dominance. By hour three there was rhubarb with a hint of pipe tobacco, smoke, and only a shred of spicy incense and licorice. I would like to try this again in 10 years. (93-97 pts.)
Thanks for the note....I've been meaning to try this. Have you had La Tache before? If so, could you compare it to any modern vintages...ie: 90's forward?
So much wine.....so little time!!!
Posts: 5969 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Jun 20, 2002
First La Tâche. I found it on a restaurant wine list in Bend, OR for a good price. I couldn't resist trying it. I spent the day in Willamette Valley, and am better appreciating the complexity and nuance of this wine.
Posts: 672 | Location: SLC,UT | Registered: Jan 03, 2005
Roentgen Ray: Wait a second.....you got it at a restaurant and drank it over 3 hours? Did you stay at the restaurant that whole time? What did you eat? What did it cost?
Irwin
Unless you're the lead sled dog, the view never changes.
I dined at the restaurant the day before and saw the wine. The next night I stopped in an hour before dinner and had them pull the wine so I could taste it. After I tasted it, I had them decant it, and hold it for an hour while I met with an old friend. An hour later, back to the restaurant, wine ready to go. Food included lardons and pork with a dijon sauce, very good. Price, <1000. I am glad that I did not decant for 2 hours as I had originally planned, the wine was at its best between 1-2 hours and became a bit too vegetal at the 2-3 hour point. It wasn't an unpleasant green pepper vegetal aroma. As described above, it was a very nice rhubarb note, that in low dose added to the wines personality, but it became overly dominant by the end of the experience.
Posts: 672 | Location: SLC,UT | Registered: Jan 03, 2005
It wasn't an unpleasant green pepper vegetal aroma. As described above, it was a very nice rhubarb note, that in low dose added to the wines personality, but it became overly dominant by the end of the experience.
From what I've experienced w/ re: to the '02 vintage in general this seems to be one of the trademarks. They were rich in fruit, and sturdy in structure right out of the gates, with a bit of an herbal quality (ala...2004) on the back end.. With time, the fruit has moved into the background with the structure and herbal notes becoming very prominent. As an example, the last bottle of '02 Girardin Beze I had was very much like this, and not as fruit forward as the first few I had on release. And, I've read this in numerous other recent TN's on various '02's. I hope this flushes out when the wines hit maturity. For me, the two greatest vintages in the past (soon to be) nearly 25-30 years now, have been 1999 and 2005 (with '85, some '90, some '88, and some '02 and '03 as runner's up). '99/'05 are wines accross the board with the complete package, and everything in harmony. Many of these have (in the case of '99) and IMHO will (in the case of '05) drink well at all stages of development. Burgundy, it's nuances, and vintages are certainly as complex as it's wines! Thanks again for posting on this.
So much wine.....so little time!!!
Posts: 5969 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Jun 20, 2002
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