from the Romanée-Conti diaries pt. 2.....

Quite the treat being able to taste this Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2005 Montrachet,  this sunday.

Although very very young, it was incredible nonetheless to take a look at this wine, and into it's future.  I like how my friend and sommelier Billy D responded to the tasting of this wine by calling it ''infanticide''.

Grape variety: Chardonnay

Vineyard holding: 0.67 hectares (1.65 acres)
Average age of vines: 62 years
Average production: 250 cases 

Often called the most prestigious label in the world, DRC wines are a must taste at least once in a lifetime for every wine lover.  My first experience with DRC a few months ago was with a '96 La Tache.  With this Montrachet however, I had more time to evaluate and see what was happening.  In the Blantyre cellar we also have the 89, 90, 94, 03, 04 vintages.

Going in for a sniff here, the nose just explodes out of the glass. A burst of excitement....

At first you notice heaps of toasty notes.  Somewhere between a toasted almond, and burnt hair.  If burnt hair could be elegant and enticing!  Wait five minutes keep swirling and you will receive a whole other layer of aromas unraveling... white flowers, vanilla, citrus...

on the palate you receive a powerful wave of a thick, pure one of a kind juice... a beautiful dried apricot, a long finish and a tightness that says let me age and grow.  I really want to revisit this wine in ten years but that is like getting struck by fucking lightening twice...

Sommelier Christelle Cotar, with the precious montrachet

bottle number 84 of just 3,413 bottles produced

rainbows do bring magical things, like this september 4th here in the berkshires

Later I tasted an Italian delight, which was my first time to taste a Sassicaia.  In this case a 2002 Sassicaia... a crumby year for most of Italy with lots of rain, but for super tuscans maybe not as bad.  The sangiovese and it's thinner skin suffered more from the rain.

This wine, was packed with an amazing nose, unleashing with very pleasant fruits and spices.
A bit misleading because on the palate it was not as long and smooth.  starts out with very nice fruits and then hits a slightly watery note followed by a slighty bitter astringency, and then strong tannin. No doubt this wine would go better with food, but for the high price of this wine I don't recommend at least the 2002.