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Burgundy Trip Diary
(Day 3 - 5)
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Dear Friends of Decanter,
I spent my third to fifth day in Burgundy researching, visiting, and tasting what is considered the legends, the myths, and the irony of Burgundy. It was the most mind boggling and emotional days for me.
I started my research by visiting the legendary Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC); the winery that produces the much talked about La Romanee-Conti, no one I know (including some famous wine journalists!) has ever had a taste of it. It is so rare and expensive that it become a fantasy of every wine lover. It has been described as the most elegant and complex wine ever made - but is it really?
It is interesting to know that between 1760 to 1794 when the vineyard was owned by Romanee du Prince de Conti, the wine was actually blended with 20% pinot blanc and fermentation only took 12 to 36 hours! But the barrel aging could be as long as 3 years in big oak barrels - basically it was an acidic (and most probably cloudy) rose wine! I am sure if DRC is now made like how it was, nobody would buy it. It is simply undrinkable in comparison to modern wines today! At DRC today, they make La Romanee-Conti with 100% pinot noir with fermentation up to as long as 2 to 3 weeks to optimally extract the flavour and colour, and aging for 18 to 24 months in oak barrels to give its structure and extra tannin.
It was also an astonishing experience for me when i visited the vineyard and saw two plots of land - Romanee-Conti and Richebourg - sitting next to each other; separated only by a narrow path and everything else looking, smelling, and feeling pretty much the same (slope, orientation to the sun, top soil look and feel, etc) but wine produced by the Romanee-Conti plot can fetch a price around 10-12 times more expensive than Richebourg. Why? I will tell you why after I finish reading the research papers and books that I have collected from this research trip :-)
I also went to “Loiseau des Vignes” - a two stars Michelin restaurant with a very tragic and ironic story and named after the famous Bernard Loiseau. In February 2003 the award winning Chef committed suicide, shooting himself in the mouth with his hunting rifle after a full day of work in his kitchen, after knowing that The Gault Millau guide downgraded his restaurant rating from 19/20 to 17/20. There were also rumors that Michelin was planning to downgrade his restaurant from 3 stars to 2 stars which turned out to be untrue.
Loiseau des Vignes serves French nouvelle cuisine style and amazing wine by the glass selection with most entries from Burgundy and some pleasant surprises from Bordeaux, Jura, and Condrieu. The sommelier serving my table is very knowledgeable. I was very impressed. Food wise, I was OK but was not too crazy about it. The highlight of the night was the gift from winemaker Thibault Liger-Belair who gave us a fantastic, breathtaking Richebourg 1974, so silky, almost ethereal, delicate yet still showing a good complexity and fresh acidity. Amazing!
Cheers
Yohan Handoyo |
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Santa Ema "Catalina" 2006
This is an intense, ripe, and well-structured ripe tannins. A mouthfilling wine with tremendous fruit expression that is reflected in the ample and long finish. A wine that reflects the qualities of the varieties that go into it: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Carmenère, and 7% Cabernet Franc. Hand picked in small 15 kg (33 lb) boxes from April 20 through May 10, depending on the variety. 14 months in French oak barrels (100% new). Deep, bright red, classic and elegant, with aromas of red fruits, and cherries that blend with notes of tobacco and vanilla that lend great complexity.
Rated 92 points by Wine Advocate
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