Christophe Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin

Initially slightly disjointed but came together nicely. Impressive in this vintage - good fruit core surprisingly and lovely nose.

Beautiful wine - lovely autumnal nose with roses. Still good fruit and some sweetness.

Vastly outperformed expectations. Subtle, floral, forest floor aromatics. Complex, evolving, balanced, sweet palate.

Consistent with last bottle

Roumier Ruchottes Chambertin 1998 (Bonnefond labelled). Friends tell me the Bonnefond bottles used to be quite a bit cheaper than the Roumier ones, but I bought half a case ex Domaine last year and the price was almost the same as the Roumier labelled one would have been. I believe it is exactly the same wine but experts in this group may correct me. This bottle drinks fantastically well. Opens immediately with a floral, seductive nose. A mix of white …

Very good nose right form the beginning with red fruit, licorice and earthy notes. Lots of energy on the palate, present tannins and Roumier type of precision. Long finish. Well done.

The nose here is seductive and the wine is elegant and flirtatious - hard to believe this is a 1998 vintage. Excellent wine making.

Roumier Ruchottes-Chambertin Dinner (The Loyalist - Chicago IL) : In 95/97/98 vertical. Very firm and seemingly austere. While this doesn't necessarily seem backward, I am wondering if shut down for now, given experience this year with other Roumier 1998s. 90 point wine tonight, but I think there is upside as this evolves and unfolds.

Popped and poured. Dark fruit and meaty Gevrey notes. Opened in the glass. Nice drink although lacks the silky texture typical of Roumier wines, perhaps due to the vintage.

2nd of 3 bottles, previous note fine plus, decanted half hour - medium dusty red, some rim development; cherry, some plum and meat, earthy, faint hint of spice; medium bodied, long and persistent, quality fruit slightly spoiled by dry dusty tannins, nice, but not quite come together and not as compelling as previous bottle, though certainly fine in context of vintage (17.5/20).

Some Wine Tasted at the Zachys Auction; 3/13/2014-3/14/2014 (RN74 - San Francisco CA) : Brief note. From magnum. All black fruit, very fresh, with a good sauvage character. Very good. Better than when last tried last year from 750.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Dinner (Boka - Chicago IL) : Tasted single blind. Good red fruit, simple and direct. At its peak now. I was surprised to see this as the 1998 when unveiled, this wasn't nearly as interesting as another bottle from a year ago.

Black cherry nose with roast meat aromas. Black cherry and blackberry flavors with great density and power, if not the greatest finesse.