Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, 2005: Tasting Notes

This morning I tasted the six red wines of the 2005 vintage from the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. My comments and tasting notes are at viewtopic.php?f=29&t=21554

Best
Rogov

Sounds like fun. And from what I can tell for the most part you thought the wines were providing pleasure now and not too shut down to appreciate?

(Irrespective of the issue of whether it is 'infanticide' to drink the bottles now, it seems that many 2005 Burgundies are shut down and extremely difficult to appreciate now so I was just wondering how you thought these differed from that general trend?)

Rahasaan, Hi.....

I have also experienced some of the 2005 wines that are now shutting down. I think we will find that the reds of Romanee-Conti, as has been traditional, will begin to close down only in another 6 - 9 months. At that point, most assuredly not to be sampled.

Best
Rogov

I think we will find that the reds of Romanee-Conti, as has been traditional, will begin to close down only in another 6 - 9 months.

So they are usually slower to shut down than other red Burgundies? (I don't have much experience, only tasted La Tache once). Is that because the tannins are more refined and therefore cause less of a problem? Surely not because they have that much more 'fruit'?

Rahasaan,

A good question..... Over the years, I have found that the Romanee-Conti wines do close down nearly a year after others of their peers. My reaction is, of course, based entirely experiential and I leave a potential answer to those involved in the chemistry of wine. If I were to be allowed to construct an hypothesis it might be to the effect that wines made from organically raised (not biodynamic but organic in this case) may close down somewhat later than their more "regular" brothers and sisters. Merely an hypothesis...

Best
Rogov

Rahasaan,

A good question..... Over the years, I have found that the Romanee-Conti wines do close down nearly a year after others of their peers. My reaction is, of course, based entirely experiential and I leave a potential answer to those involved in the chemistry of wine. If I were to be allowed to construct an hypothesis it might be to the effect that wines made from organically raised (not biodynamic but organic in this case) may close down somewhat later than their more "regular" brothers and sisters. Merely an hypothesis...

Best
Rogov

There is probably a correlation between organic/biodynamic practices and the use of much lower amounts of SO2, so that may be a factor.

and the use of much lower amounts of SO2, so that may be a factor.

What does SO2 have to do with a wine shutting down?

Similarly, I'm not sure what organic farming would have to do with it either?

I may be wrong but I always understood 'shutting down' as the changing relationship among fruit, acid, and tannin.

Not sure how these other practices would have systematic relationships (i.e. beyond something that happens in a particular growing season) with those variables?

and the use of much lower amounts of SO2, so that may be a factor.

What does SO2 have to do with a wine shutting down?

Similarly, I'm not sure what organic farming would have to do with it either?

I may be wrong but I always understood 'shutting down' as the changing relationship among fruit, acid, and tannin.

Not sure how these other practices would have systematic relationships (i.e. beyond something that happens in a particular growing season) with those variables?

The most convincing explanation of shutting down that I've seen so far is the decline of youthful flavors taking place before the onset of mature flavors, leaving a depression in between.That may manifest itself as a different relationship between fruit, acid and tannin, but those may not be its causes, only its symptoms. Where I'm coming from (and this is all very tentative): since chemical reactions occur faster whenever there is more movement, higher temperatures, and/or lower amounts of sulfites, the onset of closing could very well be affected by all these variables (on a related note, bottle shock may be a form of shutting down temporarily induced by movement). Lower sulfites, by allowing changes to take place faster, may induce earlier shutting down (I know that I'm now contradicting myself). If, on the other hand, shutting down owes something to the flavor-dampening effects of SO2 (a not unreasonable hypothesis), one might expect DRC and other organic or biodynamic burgundies to shut down later or less than those farmed with pesticides and treated with more SO2. I hate to be so speculative, but nature abhors a vacuum...

[The most convincing explanation of shutting down that I've seen so far is the decline of youthful flavors taking place before the onset of mature flavors, leaving a depression in between.

I happen to think shutting down is more about texture and structure than flavor. But we don't have to nitpick too much over definitions.

That may manifest itself as a different relationship between fruit, acid and tannin, but those may not be its causes, only its symptoms.

I don't think fruit/acid/tannin relationships are the cause or the symptom of shutting down, they are the definition of shutting down. But, see above..

Where I'm coming from (and this is all very tentative): since chemical reactions occur faster whenever there is more movement, higher temperatures, and/or lower amounts of sulfites, the onset of closing could very well be affected by all these variables (on a related note, bottle shock may be a form of shutting down temporarily induced by movement). Lower sulfites, by allowing changes to take place faster, may induce earlier shutting down (I know that I'm now contradicting myself)...

I could see this having some effect.