#solidstructure | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wineanddinosaur · 6 years ago

Text

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2016: A Singular Vintage (Wine Spectator)

A version of this report will appear in the June 15, 2019, issue of Wine Spectator.

"The 2016 vintage is very different, we really have no otheryear to compare it to," says Domaine de la Romanée-Conti co-director Aubert de Villaine, describing the newreleases of Burgundy's most coveted Pinot Noirs.

That was immediately obvious: Two of the estate's grandcru Pinot Noirs were missing from the annual tasting de Villaine presented in NewYork at Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Eleven Madison Park earlier this month.

The vineyards of Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux were devastatedby the frost of April 27, 2016, which destroyed about 80 percent of thecrop. The small remaining harvest was only bottled in magnum and will bereleased at a later date.

I had already tasted these two wines, however, from barrel, when I visited the estate in February 2018. The 2016 Echézeaux is classy andexpressive, exuding strawberry and cherry flavors on a rich, succulent andbalanced frame. It's one of the best young Echézeaux I have tasted at DRCsince I began visiting and tasting from barrel in 2005.

Want to get the latest news on collectible wines and the auction market? Sign up for Wine Spectator's free Collecting e-mail newsletter and get a new top-rated wine review, collecting Q&As and more, delivered straight to your inbox every other week!

The 2016 Grands Echézeaux is also impressive, if a touch morereserved, exhibiting black currant, and violet notes typical of the vintage. Morelinear and elegant than the Echézeaux, it finishes long and satisfying.

The 2016 Montrachet was also absent from the New York tasting. TheChassagne side of the vineyard, called Le Montrachet, where DRC's parcels arelocated, was also heavily damaged by frost that spring. Seven growers, includingDRC, devised a unique response: all their grapes were vinified together atDomaine Leflaive. In the end, only two barrels were made.

In addition to the frost, the early part of the 2016 growing season presented difficult challenges: a mild winter, excessive rainfall and attacks of mildew. But the second half of 2016 delivered superb weather, allowing the Pinot Noir grapes to fully ripen.

The five wines de Villaine presented in New York aresuperb, bursting with ripe fruit, floral and spice notes, all very indicativeof their individual climats. They are even more expressive than they werefrom barrel, and are showing a bit more oak spice now as young wines in bottle. Thescores for these wines are consistent with my previous notes, except for the Cortonand Romanée-St.-Vivant, each of which I upgraded by a point.

In general, the DRC 2016s are darker in color and flavorsthan recent years, reflecting the 2016 vintage as a whole. They are expressive,with the flush of youthful fruit and juicy textures disguising the solidstructures. Over the period of an hour or two, ample tannins emerged,suggesting that 2016 is shaping up to be a long-lived, dense yet balancedvintage.

The Corton Prince Florent de Merode 2016 (95 points,non-blind; $705) continues the DRC approach of blending the fruit from Bressandes,Clos du Roi and Renardes. This is one of the best young Cortons I have tastedfrom the estate. Having lost some of its earthy, animal notes from barrel, it now shows plenty of black cherry, sandalwood and spice aromas andflavors, with a distinctive minty element. It's dense, juicy and supple,showing well-integrated tannins and fine length.

It is a leap from the fruity brashness of the Corton tothe reserved and linear Romanée-St.-Vivant (97 points, non-blind; $2,250),particularly without the Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux as an introduction tothe grands crus of the Vosne-Romanée environs. Nonetheless, it revealsrose, violet, cherry, spice and mineral notes allied to a silky texture andelegant profile. The long finish and tension bodes well for the future.

The Richebourg (96 points, non-blind; $2,080), the alter ego of RSV, is best described as charming and fleshy. Rose, incense, Asian spices, red cherryand currant flavors mesh beautifully with its richness and round feel, giving an impression of softness, much as it did from barrel, yet this too is long andpersistent. This exhibits more red fruits than black, along with the RSV andRomanée-Conti.

I find the La Tâche (97 points, non-blind; $2,390) bears asimilar mint aroma as the Corton, with darker bass tones of licorice, blackcherry and sandalwood supported by dense tannins. It also tightened up the most after a few hours in the glass.

De Villaine didn't have to convince the small group of tastersthat the tradition at DRC is to never spit the Romanée-Conti. Sublime, rare andexpensive (99 points, non-blind; $7,480 per bottle, and just 440 cases made), itrises above its siblings for its purity, finesse, energy and length. Aromas andflavors of rose, cherry, currant and sandalwood permeate the gossamer texture, lingeringwell after the wine is swallowed.

As benchmark reds from Burgundy, the pedigree andbrilliance of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's 2016 Pinot Noirs is on display. They alsoreveal the distinctive nature of the 2016 vintage, in which the two halves of the growing season reconciled one another.

source https://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/Burgundy-Domaine-de-la-Romanee-Conti-2016-Pinot-Noir-Tasting

0 notes