2005 La Tâche, Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy
Critics reviews
There is not much difference between the way this bottle showed and my original review from late 2007, other than the nose of this most recent experience, which is notably less exuberant. However, it remains just as kaleidoscopic and dazzling with its array of red and black cherry, cassis, plum, and subtle earth notes replete with beguiling Asian spice cabinet aromas and the essence of rose petals.
The intense, potent and breathtakingly concentrated flavours possess a taut muscularity before culminating in a palate-coating finish of simply tremendous length. Not surprisingly, this is still structured to be chewy, yet it is never rustic or coarse because buckets of dry extract buffer the gorgeously detailed palate impression.
As readers know, I often use the word Zen to describe the inner harmony of a great vintage of Romanée-Conti, but rarely with La Tâche, yet in 2005, the LT had this element of inner calm and grace as well. In sum, I remain confident that this huge but utterly classy and stylish wine will go down as one of the all-time incredible LTs, provided that you have the patience to wait, as it will be a very long-distance runner.
Two bottles tasted in April 2016 showed some troubling signs of brett; however, I had these bottles in China, and it's possible that the storage and shipping were not what they should have been.
Drink from 2030 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (May 2016)
This was already drinking absolutely beautifully, even though presumably it will gain layers and even greater complexity. But what a stunning amount of pleasure it gives, even at this early stage! My verbatim notes: Gorgeous, complete, wonderful pure cherry juice flavours, even though it will presumably close down. Already dense and layered but with beautiful freshness. 'Parp. Parp,' it seems to be saying, so eager is it to broadcast its charms.
Drink 2015 - 2030
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com (October 2009)
The 2005 La Tache epitomizes the unique mysteries of Pinot (not to mention the character of a great site), with its aromas of game, musk, iris, star anise, vanilla, allspice, and naturally also an abundance of sweet, ripe, implosively tiny-berried fruit. Imagine a black Riesling.
On the palate, a vivid freshness of fruit, the pungency of spice and flowers, and the melting away of what, in point of analytical fact, are abundant tannins all engender an almost white wine dynamic of fruit-mineral call-and-response and explicit, incisive penetration of flavours to every recess of the mouth.
This is a T.R. sort of wine – you just don’t feel the stick.
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate (April 2007)
About this WINE
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)
Domaine de la Romanée Conti is co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families, the former successors to Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet who bought the vineyard of La Romanée Conti in 1869, the latter since acquiring the shares of other descendants of Duvault-Blochet in 1942. The domaine is today run by Aubert de Villaine. Many people in Burgundy just refer to 'DRC' as "the Domaine".
The domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus. As well as the 1.8 hectare monopole La Romanée Conti, the Domaine purchased its other monopole, La Tâche, in 1933, along with significant holdings in the grand crus of Richebourg, Romanée-St-Vivant, Grands Échezeaux, Échezeaux and Le Montrachet at various points in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Domaine is the largest owners of each of the red wine grand crus.
The wines are made by Alexandre Bernier, in succession to Bernard Noblet. Whole clusters are used (no destemming) with a long vatting time avoiding excesses of heat. Yields are mind-numbingly low and the winemaking is traditional and perfectionist. These are not merely among the most sumptuous wines of Burgundy but certainly the most stylish. Ancestor Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet was an advocate of harvesting late in order to ensure optimum ripeness, a philosophy to which his descendants adhere today.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Vosne-Romanée
The small commune of Vosne-Romanée is the Côte de Nuits’ brightest star, producing the finest and most expensive Pinot Noir wines in the world.. Its wines have an extraordinary intensity of fruit which manages to combine power and finesse more magically than in any other part of the Côte d’Or. The best examples balance extraordinary depth and richness with elegance and breeding.
Situated just north of Nuits-St Georges, Vosne-Romanée boasts eight Grand Cru vineyards, three of which include the suffix Romanée, to which the village of Vosne appended its name in 1866. The famous La Romanée vineyard was formerly known as Le Cloux but was renamed in 1651, presumably after the Roman remains found nearby. In 1760 the property was bought by Prince de Conti, and subsequently became known as Romanée-Conti.Vosne is the home of the phenomenally fine wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; divine wines that are, as they say, not for everyone but for those who can afford them. The region also boasts some of the world’s most talented, quality-conscious and pioneering producers: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti of course, but also Henri Jayer, Lalou Bize-Leroy, René Engel, as well as the Grivot and Gros families, to name but a few.
Vosne-Romanée has the greatest concentration of top vineyards in the Côte d’Or, including the tiny Grand Crus of the astonishing La Romanée-Conti (a monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti producing about 600 cases a year), the classy, complex La Romanée (a monopoly of Vicomte Liger-Belair, but until 2002 bottled under Bouchard Père et Fils, producing a minuscule 300 cases or so a year) and the little-known La Grande Rue. As the name suggests, this runs up the side of the road out of Vosne. Originally a Premier Cru, it was rightly upgraded in 1992, although its rich, spicy, floral Pinots are yet to reach their real potential under Domaine Lamarche who hold it as a monopoly.
By convention the wines of neighbouring Flagey-Echézeaux are considered part of Vosne-Romanée. These include the large, very variable 30-hectare Echézeaux (divided between 84 different growers) and the more consistent, silky, intense, violet-scented Grands Echézeaux Grands Crus.
La Tâche is another monopoly of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It is explosively seductive with a peerless finesse, and is almost as good as their legendary eponymous wine. Richebourg is one of Burgundy’s most voluptuous wines and is capable of challenging La Tâche in some years, while Romanée-St Vivant, which takes its name from the monastery of St Vivant built around 900AD in Vergy, has a lovely silky finesse but is slightly less powerful.
If that wasn’t enough, Vosne-Romanée also boasts some absolutely magnificent Premiers Crus headed by Clos des Réas, Les Malconsorts (just south of La Tâche, and arguably of Grand Cru quality) and Les Chaumes on the Nuits-St Georges side, Cros Parantoux (made famous by Henri Jayer), Les Beaux Monts and Les Suchots on the Flagey-Echézeaux border. The old maxim that ‘there are no common wines in Vosne-Romanée’ may not be strictly true, but it is not far off.
Drinking dates vary, but as a general rule of thumb Grand Crus are best drunk from at least 10 to 25 years, while Premier Crus can be enjoyed from 8 to 20 years, and village wines from 5 to 12 years.
There are no white wines produced in Vosne-Romanée.
- 99 hectares of village Vosne-Romanée.
- 56 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (14 in all). Foremost vineyards include Les Gaudichots, Les Malconsorts, Cros Parentoux, Les Suchots, Les Beauxmonts, En Orveaux and Les Reignots.
- 75 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards: Romanée-Conti, La Romanée, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanée St Vivant, La Grande Rue, Grands Echézeaux, Echézeaux.
- Recommended producers: Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Leroy, Cathiard, Engel, Rouget, Grivot, Liger Belair.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
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Description
There is not much difference between the way this bottle showed and my original review from late 2007, other than the nose of this most recent experience, which is notably less exuberant. However, it remains just as kaleidoscopic and dazzling with its array of red and black cherry, cassis, plum, and subtle earth notes replete with beguiling Asian spice cabinet aromas and the essence of rose petals.
The intense, potent and breathtakingly concentrated flavours possess a taut muscularity before culminating in a palate-coating finish of simply tremendous length. Not surprisingly, this is still structured to be chewy, yet it is never rustic or coarse because buckets of dry extract buffer the gorgeously detailed palate impression.
As readers know, I often use the word Zen to describe the inner harmony of a great vintage of Romanée-Conti, but rarely with La Tâche, yet in 2005, the LT had this element of inner calm and grace as well. In sum, I remain confident that this huge but utterly classy and stylish wine will go down as one of the all-time incredible LTs, provided that you have the patience to wait, as it will be a very long-distance runner.
Two bottles tasted in April 2016 showed some troubling signs of brett; however, I had these bottles in China, and it's possible that the storage and shipping were not what they should have been.
Drink from 2030 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (May 2016)
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