Last night I went to a 2002 DRC tasting at Beltramos (a wine shop in Menlo Park California). There were 30 people at the tasting plus the Beltramos representative and a Wilson Daniels rep. Everyone showed up to this tasting (unlike the Shafer Hillside tasting where the seat next to mine was left empty so at the end we started passing out the undrunk wines). We were given 1.5 ounce pours.

I'm going from memory here, but the impressions and things I remember the guy from Wilson Daniels (DRC Importer) saying:

In 2002 DRC used whole cluster fermentation. This is not used every year, some years DRC destems. Thus the color was a bit lighter than I would have assumed. Richebourg was down something like 30% to 40%. Part of this was because of replanting. The Vosne Romanee 1er Cru was only made for the second time since 1937 (1999 was the other year). Do not expect the 1er Cru to be a regular part of the DRC lineup. DRC made two passes through their vineyards in 2002. I'm unsure if this is traditional or just how things were done in 2002. Bottling may be done from barrel or from a blending tank which holds up to six barrels. It seems like DRC is flexible in how they make their wine and things depend on the vintage. I tasted the wines in the following order:

Vosne Romanee 1er Cru
Echezeaux
Grands Echezeaux
Romanee St. Vivant
Richebourg
LaTache
Romanee Conti
Montrachet

The wines were poured starting at 5:30 p.m. (working backwards with the Romanee Conti first). Pouring was finished at 6:15 p.m. and we sat down at 6:30 p.m. or so. Probably started the tasting at about 6:50 p.m. We did not use Burgundy stems at the tasting.

On my ratings I went with Buy, Buy?, or NoBuy. These wines are all fairly (to extremely) expensive ($135 to $1900 per bottle) and will all appreciate in value. I took into account the fact that I can probably at least get my money back (in some cases easily get my money back and then some).

Onto the wines:

Vonse Romanee 1er Cru - Fair amount of aroma on the nose but not overpowering. In the mouth this is the lightest of the wines in the DRC lineup. Made from young vines from all vineyards but Richebourg. Basically declassified Grand Cru juice and it shows. This wine had much less power than the Grand Cru wines. Still a very nice wine. I put this down as a buy.

Echezeaux - Now we are talking. The nose is much more expresive with lots of fruits and kirsch. The mouth is more full and the midpalette really fills the mouth. Tannins show a little bit here. I put this down as a buy.

Grands Echezeaux - Even bigger than the Echezeaux though the nose was a bit muted. The mouthfeel was bigger and the tannins were more pronouced but not overpowering. This was a wine where the silkiness of the DRC tannins really showed through. I put this wine down as a buy.

Romanee St. Vivant - The DRC RSV has a soft place in my heart as the 1985 version of this is the best red wine I've ever tasted. The nose was bigger on this wine than the GE with lots of fruit. The palette mouthfilling with less mouthgripping tannins than the GE. I really liked this wine. I put this down as a Buy I'm glad I already have four bottles.

Richebourg - Seemed really muted on the nose. Hard swilling brought the aromas out somewhat. There was some fruit and mouth gripping tannins here. I think this was a more classically styled Burgundy as the other wines seem more expressive in their youth than the Richebourg. I rated this a pass because ....

LaTache - YUM! Things really start to kick up a notch here. The LaTache just explodes in the mouth. I'm not sure how to explain this but the LaTache really has the "Burgundy" pinot flavor in spades (it is different a different pinot flavor than a CA pinot). Really really good with an expressive nose and fine fine taste in the mouth. I rated this a buy. Only a few dollars more than the Richebourg.

Romanee Conti - Just when you think things can't go any higher they do. Not by much and certainly not by three times as much (the cost difference between the LaTache and Romanee Conti) but there is definitely more there there. This wine is a bit more closed but with hard swirling you can coax flashes of brilliance out of the glass. I rated this a buy, but only because I know I can flip it for more than I paid for it. If this was purchased solely for drinking I'd pass. Even so I might still just drink one if I got one.

Montrachet - 2002 was a very good vintage for Red Burgundy, but for White Burgundy it was fantastic and this wine showed why. The Montrachet was pouted at the end of the tasting and was just fantastic (quite possibly the best of the 8 wines poured). Very expressive nose and fully mouthcoating. One of the best white wines I've ever had and this is only going to get better. I don't currently own any DRC Montrachet, but if money is no object I can see why I'd want to own some. I rate this a buy for two reasons, I really really liked it, and I could flip it for far more than the asking price.

Thanks for the notes. We can compare in about 10 years when we finally try a couple.

skwidster, don't you find young Burgundies hard to evaluate? Whether or not he admits it, I know Parker does.

Over three years ago, my wife and I were having dinner in NC with the mletsons. The sommelier opened a 1999 Clos Vougeot from Girardin and poured us a taste immediately after opening. I couldn't even be sure the wine was a Pinot Noir it was so hard.

These wines were relatively open for Burgundies. This was noticed by pretty much everyone and the Wilson Daniels guy mentioned that the 2002's were more open than the 2001's (which evidently at this tasting last year were difficult to evaluate). The Wilson Daniels guy also mentioned that the wines had changed quite a bit just since last December.

Oh my. At $2000 for a bottle of chardonnay... I would love to try the Montrachet, but that ain't gonna happen. I would have loved to have been at the tasting though. I'm jealous!