Beaune - Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus..... Clos de la Roche.....

5-September-97

Friday night dinner at home with two guests.

Beaune - Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus	1989	Bouchard P&F

9/97. Bought in auction May-96 for $50 (imported for $66 net).
This Beaune 1er Cru from Bouchard's monopole vineyard is IMHO one of the best or indeed the best of Bouchard wines. I usually don't care much for their wines and have been disappointed by their mediocre effort more than once.
COLOR: Vibrant brick red. Not much clearing towards the rim.
NOSE: Fantastic red forest fruit, excellent 'Bourgogne Nose' of undergrowth and tender raw meat. Not immensely powerful but extremely pleasant nose.
TASTE: Mouthful of fruity juice and 'winyness' on the palate, good fresh acidity. Perhaps not the most complex of flavors but very very tasty. Delicious!
LENGTH: Medium long and very pleasant aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Mid-weight, concentrated, fruity, receding tannins, fresh acidity. Beautifully balanced.
OVERALL: Superb! As good a Beaune bottle as one may come across. Perfect now with some more years in store.
MARK: 18/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Clos de la Roche		1983	Dom. Ponsot

9/97. Bought in auction Feb-97 for $154 (imported for $164 net).
This is my third bottle in over two years of this great wine. No doubt the once untamed giant is beginning to quietly harmonize.
COLOR: A bit paler than the '89 Enfant Jesus. This is expected as the '83 la Roche is almost twice as old. Plenty of sediment.
NOSE: A classic! Fruits, flowers, zillion nuances of the 'Bourgogne Nose' from wet earth to leather, mushrooms, game and whatnot. Titanic aroma. Amazing!
TASTE: On top of being extremely tasty this wine has no end to its myriad of flavors and layers. Giant yet delicate, obvious yet subtle. Still relatively strong tannins and perhaps a tiny bit excess of acidity, but really wonderful as it is.
LENGTH: Long and ever developing aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: A huge wine [by (B) standards] that lacks nothing in elegance and delicacy. Plenty of everything. Separate elements are just beginning to integrate.
OVERALL: Extraordinary! Still a few years from complete maturity. One of the very best '83 (B).
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.