Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Conti Grand Cru

2013

Burghound 96: This is not as deeply hued as the La Tâche though it rarely ever is. The kaleidoscopically spicy, floral and complex nose however is a good deal more expressive, indeed almost surprisingly so given that it typically is quite reticent. In the same fashion as the La Tâche one aspect that is immediately clear is that 2013 is an emphatically powerful vintage for RC with its dense, serious and muscular middle weight plus flavors that retain terrific delineation on the extraordinarily pure and refined finish that seems to go on and on. The intensity does a slow build from the mid-palate to the explosive finale yet for all the robust power and intensity the overall impression remains harmonious and entirely Zen-like. This is, in a word, gorgeous.

Wine Advocate 97: The 2013 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked in the afternoon of October 8 at a yield of 17.5 hectoliters per hectare. I remember this was taciturn in barrel vis-à-vis the La Tâche, which is commonly the case, however here it sprints from the blocks thanks to a life-affirming bouquet of red plum, wild strawberry, cold wet limestone and black truffle that segues into something almost girolles-like, even smoky. Like the 2013 La Tâche, it is very mercurial in the glass and to that end, I stretched my sample out for 10-15 minutes. The palate is medium-bodied and very harmonious on the entry. Filigree tannin frame this wine, perfect acidity lending freshness and tension, here a gradual build towards a delineated, almost edgy finish. It brought to the forefront of my mind an actor about to utter the first line of a play.

Decanter 96: With a beautiful ruby colour, the marvellous, multi-faceted aromas just jump out of the glass in an extraordinary expression of Pinot Noir that immediately stakes out its greatness, while offering so much more to discover, superb natural richness on the palate, endless purity. A true work of art from this truly historical vineyard.

2015

Burghound 99+: Sometimes, try as I might, words fail to communicate adequately those few transcendent experiences where a wine is just so amazing that it's impossible to capture it. The 2015 Romanée-Conti would be one of those experiences so you will simply have to accept the limitations of the written word. The breathtakingly beautiful nose is restrained to the point of being almost mute yet aggressive agitation eventually reveals an exotically broad-range of highly perfumed floral, spice, tea and incense-like nuances. The opulently textured, concentrated and equally mineral-driven flavors accentuate the perfumed character of the nose as the inner mouth perfume just adds to the what is roughly akin to an sensorial assault, all wrapped in a finish that lasted for seemingly several days as I had no trouble recalling it over the next 48 hours. If there's any imperfection that I could detect, there is a hint of warmth but otherwise, this is pretty close to perfect. The word spectacular comes to mind but then again so does brilliant, fabulous and splendid. You get the idea, pretty damn remarkable.

Decanter 100: Produced from seriously old vines with an average age of 56 years, DRC’s headline act does not remotely disappoint. Aromatic fireworks of ripe red and black fruits, toast, spice and a note of decadent perfume lead into a complex palate showing pristine flavours of ripe raspberry, dark cherry, spice, cream and minerals that saturate your taste buds. It is lavishly upholstered by sweet, dense filigree tannins and buoyed by fine acidity - the opulent texture and presence of this wine is beyond remarkable. Already, it is open, profoundly expressive and accessible, however its concentration, acidity and structure will carry it through for decades to come. Arguably the ultimate terroir wine, this 2015 is also the epitome of truly great Pinot Noir. Harvested on 10th September with a yield of 22.65hl/ha. Bottled 22nd March 2017. 403 cases produced.

2016

Burghound 99+: Here the nose is very much in that young RC mode of 'don't bother me' as it requires aggressive swirling to grudgingly reveal smoky and overtly floral suffused aromas of plum, cassis, spiced tea and sandalwood. The gorgeously sleek medium weight plus flavors possess a wonderfully seductive mouthfeel along with plenty of minerality that also suffuses the splendidly long and beautifully well-balanced if youthfully austere finale. Like the La Tâche this spherical effort is also very much built to age and is a wine that is going to require the better part of three decades to realize its full potential. While it is very much fraught to be making projections about all-time great vintages of RC when there have been so many over the storied history of this wine, I would say that the '16 is RC quite simply breathtakingly good and for me it's the wine of the vintage.

Wine Advocate 100: The 2016 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is a worthy successor to the profound 2015, wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, violets, peony, dark chocolate, cinnamon and exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and satiny, with an ineffable sense of completeness, searing concentration without weight, a vibrant, indeed animating line of acidity, and a long, expansive finish that concludes with a judicious touch of mouthwatering bitterness. Wines like this are the foundation of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's reputation.

Decanter 98: As with the La Tâche, this is a touch paler in colour than the rest of the range. The aromas on the Romanée-Conti are markedly different: surprisingly expressive on first sniff, with raspberry and cherry singing out in unison, before exotic oak spice and whole-bunch notes chime in. It's an intriguingly ethereal perfume, duly held before the plunge into the red and blueberry fruit which combines seductively on the concentrated palate. It's rich, yet seemingly not so, with a silky textural elegance held together by a seamless combination of fruit, subtle oak and the structural elements of texture and freshness.