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    My Column

    THE ROMANÉE CONTI TASTING

    There will be a lot of great Burgundy drunk this week at La Paulée events and auctions, and that had me thinking about a special day where I tasted some of one of its finest.  Eighteen vintages of Romanee-Conti is practically a lifetime worth of experience, but thankfully one Sunday this Fall, it was one spectacular tasting.  The 1990 was a head above the rest, but ther...

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    My Today

    All of the tasting notes of the wine critic mentioned above in tastingbook, comes from press releases from wine importers and vineyards, or directly from the critic and can also be found on the critic’s own website, which can be easily accessed by clicking on the link above.

     

     

    DRC La Tache 1934-2002

     

    La Tache 1934  94 points

    While 1934 is a great vintage, this particular bottle seemed a little watered down, though that is ...

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    My Yesterday

    Château Latour 1881-2006

     

    Château Latour 1961  99 p

    Château Latour 1982  98 p

    The 1982 Latour quickly rose to the top of the charts and took wine of the night honors. It was much more wound than the 1990, also with more minerals in its long, classic nose. Dust, cedar and more minerals kept surging out of the nose. The palate had so much length and strength, noticeably more so than any other wine on this starry night. While the 199...

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    Me

    John Kapon, the 40-year-old CEO of Acker Merrall & Condit, is the man who smiled when wheeled luggage was invented; his suitcases have rolled as many miles as some cars. Recently, we sat down in a conference room one early evening in the townhouse of his family business. Half a dozen or more people buzz around behind us, making preparations for an upcoming auction in Hong Kong. In a couple of days, John will fly to China for this sale, the fir...

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    Pro Me

    Acker Merrall’s auction business is a smash success

    The figures are impressive. In 2010, Acker Merrall & Condit grossed around $99 million in auction business from NY, Hong Kong and the Internet, and another $15-20 million from its retail business. In 2011, Acker grossed about $110 million in auction business from 16 live auctions held in NY, Hong Kong and Chicago, and the retail business is expected to be up 10 per cent on 2011. In 2011, A...

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Wine Moments

Here you can see wine moments from tastingbook users. or to see wine moments from your world.

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  23 Wines  from  9 Producers 

The 1966 Heitz Vineyard Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was an epic bottle, a testament to the heights that Napa can achieve, pun intended!  There was a minty and sexy nose that seeped caramel and eucalyptus.  There was this great herbal complexity that was so expressive.  Insane expression!  ‘So good’ was written over and over in my notes.  The palate was creamy, long and smooth with tasty and fresh caramel flavors.  Divine stuff (98).

1m 1d ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  17 Wines  from  8 Producers 

The 1966 Guigal La Mouline seemed like a great place to finish.  The acidity on this bottle was impressive, and the violet and white pepper were dancing with the stars together.  It was another ‘so good’ wine, and at this point I was officially done (98+).

1y 2m ago

 Van der Meulen  has updated producer and wine information

1y 5m ago

Vintage  1970  has new information

1y 7m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  16 Wines  from  8 Producers 

Magnum of 1961 Dom Perignon Charles and Diana Wedding Cuvee.  This was a come to Jesus wine, and I’m not sure how anyone who attended that wedding didn’t have a religious experience or a baby.  Either or.  This was one of the, if not the, greatest bottle of Champagne I ever had.  It was electric on the palate, bringing the zippedy, doo dah and beautiful day all in one.  It was so young but had such maturity and wisdom to its flavors.  Bready, meaty, oily and long, this was rich, decadent and full of itself, as in its finish and length.  So good as in so great (99M).

1y 7m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  16 Wines  from  1 Producers 

DRC Romanée-Conti 2015 had a deep, dark nose with lots of stalky and rocky fruit and a whiff of good wood from the forest.  Red and purple flowers were abundant in this deep wine.  Its palate was rich and long, and while still young it didn’t feel too young.  There was lots of garden goodness to the palate in a royal way.  There was a great, tight, rusty edge and loads of acidity on its “luscious palate of extraordinary power,” noted one.  James Suckling noted “dried strawberry and baby fat - for a baby that goes to the gym” 😂 (98pts)

1y 9m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  11 Wines  from  9 Producers 

We inched into the reds with a 1937 Haut Brion. While the 1930s is generally considered a lost decade when it comes to Bordeaux, this HB showed admirably. It had a complex nose with aromas of caramel, bookshelf, mocha and some forest. Its palate was creamy and lush, fresh yet mature. There were candle wax kisses to its palate and nice leather on its finish, along with a touch of signature gravel. Secondary flavors of celery soda and molasses rounded out this toasty Haut Brion (94).

1y 9m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  14 Wines  from  8 Producers 

Happy New Year!  May 2023 be one of your best and brightest years ever.  I couldn’t think of a better way to ring in a new year than an article about arguably the greatest wine day I have ever had.  I will let you be the judge.  Part I.

1y 11m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  19 Wines  from  6 Producers 

The 1964 Dom Perignon was a touch pinchy and weedy at first, but the bread, butter and honey came and joined the party shortly. No bubbles but great White Burgundy, Bernard insisted. There were citrus, dust and straw edges and a touch of the cat’s meow (pee) that crept out in the glass. It was still excellent, but definitely better a decade prior when it blew me away after being re-released, or perhaps that was just this bottle (94).

1y 11m ago

John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit, Wine Merchant (United States)  had a tasting of  12 Wines  from  7 Producers 

The 1990 Romanée Conti sent off a signal that there was trouble in Gotham, but the Batman came to the rescue for DRC and the 1990 vintage with a spectacular bottle of 1990 DRC Romanee Conti!  Now this was the alpha 1990 DRC that I remembered, but never quite like this.  It is not often I get to taste “RC RC,” and this bottle delivered everything I could possibly ask for.  It was deeper and darker than anything day or night.  It had this leathery intensity in its nose, a nose that unfurled in spectacular fashion.  Its finish was also long and intense, such a strong finish, practically endless!  This was clearly a special wine, a mouthful like no other in Burgundy.  It was a black hole of greatness, leaving me mesmerized with its rich and honeyed palate.  There was a bunch of illegible notes at the end, but one note clearly stood out: ‘ENERGY!!!’ (99).

2y 27d ago

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