Elite Traveler March-April 2016

INFLUENCE WINE COLUMN

elite traveler MAR/APR 2016 55

Charles Metcalfe on the 2013 DRC CharlesMetcalfe greets the supremely quiet wines that are the precious result of a challenging, but long, growing season

TASTING NOTES 2013 Corton

side. But this promises to develop one day into a great wine. Drink 2022–40 | 97/100 2013 Richebourg Down to 55 percent of its normal yield, this Richebourg is much more showy than several of its neighbors. It doesn’t lack savory intensity on the nose, but has more evident plummy fruit to cloak this. The palate adds a greenish note, surrounded by rich plum and raspberry fruit. It has lovely balance and perfume, ripe tannins, and a voluptuous finish. Drink 2021–35 | 97/100 2013 La Tâche The second of the Côte de Nuits vineyards to be picked after Echézeaux, on October 7, 8, and 9, this wine is very delicate and restrained at present, showing raspberry perfume on the nose, then savory freshness on the palate. It is lean and energetic, with ripe raspberry fruit clothing the vigorous structure and savory intensity, plus length and power on the finish. Drink 2023–45 | 98/100 2013 Romanée-Conti Always the smallest-yielding of the DRC Côte de Nuits grands crus, Romanée-Conti made 69 percent of its usual quantity. And this is different, much leaner and tighter on the nose than the others, with a definite green note. Tannins are very present on the palate, and the structure is more evident than the perfume that will undoubtedly come. At present, there’s a lean, ascetic, savory intensity to the fore, and high acidity. It needs time to uncoil and relax. But great length hints at how this wine will develop. Drink 2025–45 | 99/100 Charles Metcalfe co-founded Wine International magazine in 1983 . One of his books, co-written with his wife Kathryn McWhirter , The Wine and Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal, was declared the Louis Roederer International Wine Book of the Year 2008. This feature was originally published in the March 2016 issue of The World of Fine Wine.

The first wine in the tasting is now the Corton (the fifth vintage made by DRC) from the Domaine Prince Florent de Mérode. It is a blend of grapes from the Renardes, Bressandes, and Clos du Roi vineyards in the heart of the Corton Grand Cru appellation, all facing due southeast. It shows its classy origin without the sometimes rustic character of Cortons from lesser vineyards. The nose is light and savory, leading to a delicate, fresh palate, with lovely acidity and gentle tannins. The finish lingers, soft and savory. Drink 2019–26 | 92/100 2013 Echézeaux Lowest yielding and last picked of the reds, this Echézeaux shows the magic of the Côte de Nuits grands crus. The nose has wonderful raspberry ripeness and an almost voluptuous charm. On the palate, the sinews become apparent. Savory intensity counterbalances the exuberant raspberry fruit, with fresh 2013 Grands-Echézeaux This was the first of the Côte de Nuits grands crus to be picked and with the highest yield, but still only 68 percent of a normal harvest. It is much less come-hither than the Echézeaux, delicate, savory and intense on the nose, wonderfully fragrant on the palate, light and bright, with quite firm tannins and beautiful poise. As it develops in the mouth, it shows a lean, steely side, but never loses its red-fruit perfume, and it has wonderful length. Drink 2021–35 | 96/100 2013 Romanée-St-Vivant From the penultimate vineyard to be picked, on October 10 and 11, this is very lean, determined wine. The nose is incredibly savory, very umami, which may be a reflection of the very low yield. The flavors seem almost a distillate of the vineyard itself. Intensely savory and very withheld, it needs longer to show its beautiful acidity and supple tannins. It’s delicious now and will develop. Drink 2017–27 | 93/100

Every year, the first pour at the annual Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) tasting , in the offices of UK agent Corney & Barrow, comes as a surprise. You look at the small amount of liquid in your large glass and wonder how you can get a proper impression from such a tiny quantity of wine. But the small pour concentrates the mind. These are all expensive wines. And at this tasting of 2013s, tasters understood how small the vintage was, the DRC Côte de Nuits grands crus averaging only 57 percent of normal production. These are supremely quiet wines, the polar opposites of the powerful reds favored by some critics. They compel attention and concentration. They draw you into the precisely ordered world of the Domaine, where the vines and their individual terroirs are all-important. The mission of cellar master, Bernard Noblet, is to do nothing to disturb the tranquil journey from bunch to bottle. Aubert de Villaine presides over the Domaine, and he presided over this tasting, too – a quiet, priestly presence. He receives tasters, one by one, relating

the journey this year’s grapes have taken. A very wet start to the season was the cause of the small harvest. The vines suffered from both coulure and millerandage. Being biodynamically managed, the vines were far better able to resist fungal disease, Aubert insisted. That was supremely important in 2013. But hot weather between June and August enabled the vines to catch up, even though periods of humidity kept the vineyard team busy spraying the vines with biodynamic preparations. September was dry but cool. The red harvest started on October 3 in Corton and continued in the Côte de Nuits on October 6. All the grapes were in by October 13. As Aubert says: “2013 is forever to be ranked among late years. If we consider the dates of the harvest, it is to be compared to 1978 or 1979. The quality of these two wonderful vintages shows the advantages a long growing season can have when the grapes ‘simmer’ in the soft sun and benefit from a slow ripening, which gives complexity to the wines.” Here is my view of the wines tasted.