1987 La Tâche and 1995 Romanée Saint-Vivant

My husband has mastered the art of slow smoking duck breast. His method adds a smokiness to the fat cap and keeps the duck nice and tender and juicy. He also has a berry sauce that is the perfect match for the smoked duck breast. We had the duck with a side of wild rice with mushrooms.

We had two wines to pair with the duck dinner. One was a 1987 La Tâche and the other was a 1995 Romanée Saint-Vivant. My husband decanted the La Tâche right as we were serving the duck. The color of the La Tâche was sparkling ruby in the glass. The edges of the La Tache in the wine glasses didn't show much oxidation for it's age. We tasted a blend of red cherries, a bit of spiciness and it was very well integrated with smooth tannins. The 1995 Romanée Saint-Vivant was more darkly extracted, looking more like dark garnet in the glass. It tasted very youthful and had a little tannin bite at the end. However, both wines were a delicious compliment to the smoked duck.

Sadly, that was the last of the La Tâche, but this may have been the right time to drink it. My husband claims that he has three more bottles of the 1995 Romanée Saint-Vivant, which I think can be cellared for many more years.