Vosne - Les Brulees			1978	R. Engel

Acquired from London Feb-96 for $67 (imported for $84 net).
We had this bottle for Friday night dinner with hare-pate (bought in Fouchon), marinated spare-ribs and the last of the cheese we brought from France.
This old Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru, from a superb vintage and an excellent source, was about an inch lower than the cork.
COLOR: Pale red with some brownish hues. Noticeably clearing towards the rim.
NOSE: Superb nose of mature (B). Old ripe forest fruit, mushrooms and undergrowth, beautiful 'Bourgogne Nose'. Exquisite, though not an extremely powerful bouquet.
TASTE: Very rich and tasty. Again, in a delicate rather than powerful way. For the first 20-30 minutes, the wine was totally harmonious on the palate. As time went on, it dried up a little and began to show to much acidity.
LENGTH: Not particularly long, though pleasant and complex aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Started the evening as an enticing, delicate and elegant mature wine. No youthful vigor, but a lot of respect that elegant seniors automatically command. Unfortunately this state did not last very long. The wine almost faded in the glass.
OVERALL: The first (B) I ever taste that starts so good and dies so fast. It was *NOT* an over-the-hill wine by any means. It was superb wine that simply died in front of our eyes (or nose or mouth). Wine is an amazing thing, have I ever said that?...
MARK: 17+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? No.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.