Like a Phoenix from the ashes...

It was a slow, dead night... until... heartbreak... The 1985 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux was, alas, corked. TCA. 2,4,6 Trichloranisole. Cork taint. Nasty stuff it is. And it really got into this bottle good... turned it from one of the amazing experiences of my wine life a few months ago (I have, thankfully tried this wine before.) into a mass of utter disgust. Cork taint is a story for another day... But, without this incredible dissapointment, I would not have gotten to try the mind-blowing 1989 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Saint-Vivant. Certainly one of the great Burgundies I've ever had the joy of trying, this wine was 10 times better than I had it built up in my mind. The nose had the classic RSV softness with sweet cherry, strawberry, rhubarb and clove. On the palate the wine just enveloped my mouth with the sweet fruit, then a good dose of tannin let me know there was a some power along with all of that elegance. An amazing experience... I love DRC!!! And if I had to choose a wine to drink, I would choose the DRC over the 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico, but I think in the end, the Unico is the far superior wine, and is one of the great wines I've ever tasted, and certainly the greatest Spanish wine I've ever tried. Tons of extracted vanilla with leather, spice box, black plum, anise, and blackberries. This wine is so huge, but it's so balanced and silky. It reminds me of a young Chateau Mouton-Rothschild with all of the power and elegance and the silky mouth. This is one of the 10 greatest wines I've ever had...