Domaine de Chevalier (blanc)..... Cote Rotie..... Richebourg.....

Domaine de Chevalier (blanc)	1992	Graves

7/99. Brought by Yair Hajdu.
I think this is only the second time I have tasted a white Bordeaux (the first time did not impress me at all). I understand this Graves Grand Cru white is a mixture of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
COLOR: Very nice light golden color.
NOSE: Initially, fresh white fruits burst out of the glass. Then the nose calms down a bit to reveal more complex elements like honey and minerals. Very pleasant and elegant.
TASTE: Fabulous depth on the palate with mouthfilling fruit that is well balanced by noticeable oak and flinty feel. Excellent winyness, measured acidity (far less than some New World SBs!) and very fine grip.
LENGTH: Long finish followed by complex and lingering aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium-full body, closer to a good white (B) in its complexity than to any Sauvignon Blanc I can remember. Fantastic balance of all elements.
OVERALL: Superb! A serious and gratifying wine that still got many years in which to evolve and to give pleasure.
MARK: 18/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Cote Rotie 'VV'			1991	B. Burgaud

7/99. Bought in London, May-99 for $24.
Less than a month passed since I opened my first bottle of this amazingly good wine. I was so proud with my find that I could not resist serving it as the 'food' wine of the evening.
COLOR: Dark and impressive, with beautiful hues of black and red. Very slight clearing around the rim. Some sediment and lots of tartaric acid crystals.
NOSE: Red and black forest fruits together with white pepper and other spices. Rich and complex earthy elements with a rustic (in the best sense of the word) touch. Really enticing!
TASTE: Deep and warm flavors that really fill the mouth with semi-ripe delicious fruit and a touch of vanilla. Superb grip and focus, lots of winyness, pleasant acidity and soft tannins.
LENGTH: Medium-long finish with sweetish notes.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium-full bodied. Very good structure with solid backbone. Absolutely perfectly balanced.
OVERALL: Superb-plus! An exceptionally good wine for an exceptionally reasonable price.
MARK: 18.5/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Richebourg			1988	Gros Frere & Soeur

7/99. Acquired at auction, Apr-98 for $130.
There are few wines that evoke higher hedonistic expectations than Richebourg. Among the finest wines in the world, this grandest of Grand Crus should be lush, voluptuous and delicate - all at the same time.
The only wine made by the Frere et Soeur faction of the Gros family in Vosne-Romanee I have previously tasted (i.e drank three bottles) was a superb 1985 Clos de Vougeot.
COLOR: Lightish brick red, with noticeable clearing around the rim.
NOSE: Really hard to describe. So complex, so fragrant and so beautiful that it was literally difficult for me to move my nose away from inside the glass. Semi-ripe red fruit sprinkled with perfumed tones, covered by a sublime robe of the most beautiful 'Bourgogne Nose'. A nose to die for!
TASTE: Simply explosive in the mouth! A myriad of nuances, flavors and associations, like a multi-colored abstract watercolor painting. Delicate and 'molecular' in its interaction with the palate. Only moderately concentrated, but with such a beautiful and tasty harmony - who cares?.
LENGTH: Really long and reverberating aftertaste. The tap-dance this wine makes with each and every taste-bud lasts long after each sip is swallowed.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied with an amazingly broad spectrum of flavors. Elegant, refined and sensual though lacking that tiny bit of 'animalism' that I would expect here. Still, a perfectly balanced sublime nectar.
OVERALL: Extraordinary-plus!!. The half notch by which this gem of wine is short of being absolutely divine, could have easily been covered by just that bit of zest that is missing. It is so much easier to make deep and powerful wines than broad and complex ones like this Richebourg. Pity Gros F&S did not manage to do both.
MARK: 19.5/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.