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I have spent a lot of time on the road this summer, both business and a bit of pleasure. July had me all over Europe, visiting 18 cities in 25 days. Before the trip, it looked really good on paper, but about halfway through, it started to hurt. I think it was the 22 courses in two days, combined with eight straight meals with foie gras that had something to do with it. Not to mention the insane amount of wine that was sampled. Our favorite cellars in Europe were quite generous, and it is my goal to get the recap article done by end of Labor Day. I still have a dream, to write more notes. Most of what I taste unfortunately does not get published – yet. Our new website will force me to change that, but that is still some months away.

Monday night this week brought me back to New York City for basically the first time in two months. It was only fitting to ease back into the rotation with Mr. Unfiltered, who bottle shocked me with a bottle of 1993 Romanee Conti. I had two other bottles of RC while in Europe, one being a 1923, the other being a 2004. Both were better than great. I’ll get to those later. I was sniffing away at the 1993 when it occurred to me that a bottle of RC a month is a $100k a year habit. Amazing. As was the 1993, although 1993 has always been a bit of a hot topic when it comes to due to the woodier and stemmier nature of many bottles.

The ’93 RC was deep yet tight; it had a killer nose that could only be Romanee Conti. There is a natural weight and breed that comes from the vineyard of Romanee Conti that is unmatched by any Pinot in the world. It ain’t 10k a bottle for nothin’, as we might say here in New Yawk. Mr. U called it ‘a stainer,’ and its aromas did feel like a stain on my membrane. Black fruits, rust, forest and almost a shot of Fernet Branca-like liqueur were all there in its rusty and spicy nose. Green fruit and stems were also there, as that woodsy quality of this vintage for made itself evident from the first sniff. It did get saucier in the glass, both in the nose and on the palate, which was also deep and rich. The forest floor and stem flavors were there, but so was this luscious quality that oozed creamy black and red fruits. A little licorice crept out of the wood, and the acidity lingered well. While 1993 may have some more ‘issues’ than the average RC, there is still no doubting the heavyweight champion of the world (95+).