Tonight, with a simple dinner of roasted chicken, potatoes and brussels sprouts, I opened a bottle of a recently acquired Burgundy:
1990 Hospices de Beaune Corton 'Cuvée Docteur Peste' (Louis Jadot) color: dark garnet at the center, going orange at the rim nose: pencil lead, dark, ripe fruit, some heat palate: rich, medium bodied, ripe fruit in the black cherry-red plum continuum, modest acidity, slight heat in the finish
This wine was an attractive but foursquare example of Burgundy. The alcohol level and ripeness of the fruit can be laid at the feet of the year, almost certainly, though to my taste this did not suffer from the "roasted" character that some have tarred '90 Burgundies with. Jean likened this wine to something halfway between a good California Pinot Noir and a more traditional Burgundy. Had I tasted this blind, would I have guessed Grand Cru Burgundy? Probably not, but it actually went fabulously well with the chicken and was a pleasure to drink. We'll not hold on to our remaining two bottles very long, but try them with duck and rabbit as the opportunity arises.
Mark Lipton