Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 2019

The 2019 La Tâche Grand Cru is sublime. Mingling aromas of wild berries and bergamot with notions of rose petals, exotic spices, violets, clove and cinnamon, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a multidimensional palate of breathtaking plenitude. Elegantly muscular, this is a vibrant, pristinely balanced wine that concludes with a long, resonant finish. More structured and broader shouldered than the ethereal Romanée-Conti itself, this will demand and richly reward bottle age.

The last few months of maturation in cask have moved the 2019 La Tâche from being a superb wine to be one that is essentially flawless. The wine, which already showed great intensity of black and red berry fruit and a complex web of terroir and secondary aromas, has blossomed and shed a skein of reduction to shine forth its aromas and to show boundless generosity in its impressive density and structure. All of the components work together to produce a wine that is satisfying even now but which will continue to improve for many decades to come. Drinking Window 2025 - 2065. (CC)

The 2019 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked over three days from 16 to 18 of September at 23hL/ha. Like the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, this wine gives you no choice but to sit and contemplate. The bouquet is beautifully-defined, broody and introspective at first, less immediate than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, then after 10 minutes it becomes highly perfumed with potpourri and rose petals, dark berry fruit, perhaps just a hint of liquorice. The palate is medium-bodied, extraordinarily well-defined and pure. There is a touch more spice compared to recent vintages, a pinch of white pepper lingers on the tongue for a minute after the wine has exited. There is real structure to this La Tâche and my intuition is that this will close for a period during its long arching evolution in bottle. 994 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London. (NM)

The colour is not much deeper, an even dark crimson across the glass. The bouquet speaks of a wealth to follow. Darker fruit, with pepper, much more backward than the sublime Richebourg. Some detail starts to emerge on the nose but it feels like only a tiny percentage of the potential. The classic old roses show more on the palate, with black pepper, notably more tannins here, yet they are entirely in balance. Now the nose begins to speak a little more, reflecting the palate. Brooding and backward of course. The fruit builds back better, to cover the tannins. Tasted: November 2021

Deep crimson. Rather more savoury than usual on the nose. But on the palate it’s so rich you could so easily drink it tonight! Such a seductive wine… Utterly sensual in terms of ripe fruit and length. Rich and perfumed. Just absolutely what we all seek in a red burgundy: rich fruit and yet delicate. Restores one’s faith in burgundy. (JR)