2014 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, Marey-Monge 6x750ml

Robert Parker 93-95

The 2014 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru has a nose that is so seductive that even at this juncture you feel the urge to run off and elope hand in hand. Very pure, very charming, wonderful effervescent red cherry and wild strawberry scents intertwined with thrilling mineralite. The palate is perhaps a little behind that Grands Echezeaux in terms of assimilating the oak, since there is a patina of wood towards the finish, but there is real density here as it fans out with a quite splendid peacock’s tail. Before commenting upon Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s wines, I should re-emphasize as I did last year, that tasting this illustrious domaine’s wines from barrel is for academic purposes. These 2014s will not be offered to consumers until they are in bottle and of course, they will inevitably change and evolve in the intervening period, as all Burgundy wines are prone to do between barrel and bottle. On the other hand, I personally find it educational to chart their progress from prenatal wines in barrel, through their respective elevages, then not only in bottle after release, but (fingers crossed) during their lifetime. This is why I always post mature bottle notes in my "Up From The Cellar" series. I do hope readers gain vicarious pleasure from these barrel notes, some insight from the commentary that will complement the article composed when I eventually taste them again in bottle. I tasted through these wines with the stocky but affable Bertrand de Villaine, who is now taking more and more daily responsibilities from his uncle Aubert. It was one of the most interesting barrel tastings that I have performed in their hallowed cellars. That does not imply they were the greatest that I have ever tasted. Bertrand kindly left me to my own thoughts as I tasted through the reds, but requested my thoughts afterwards. I felt that this was a septet of mischievous children, teasing me by mimicking each other’s personalities. La Tache and Romanee-Conti had decided to swap, the former so ineffably discrete, Romanee-Conti "putting it out" there and letting it’s hair down. Picture an Oxford don doing the conga. Richebourg decided to align itself with La Tache and seemed to accentuate it tertiary qualities whereas Romanee-Saint-Vivant was more like Grands Echezeaux, and so damn seductive that one had to resist temptation and call over to Bernard Noblet, a lanky lighthouse what with that lamp strapped around his head, and order him to bottle it immediately. [Neal Martin, 28/09/2017]

Anticipated maturity: 2018-2045

Vinous 94+

Bright, full red Restrained but very pure perfume of dark raspberry, black cherry, menthol, licorice and black pepper Dense, silky and suave on entry, conveying a sexy sweetness to its juicy dark fruit, mineral and spice flavors This wine struck me as comparatively feminine in style, but not for long, as it quickly went into a shell in the glass Finishes very long, with firm-edged tannins, noteworthy saline complexity and superb precision Bertrand de Villaine described this wine as "a bit chaotic" in the early going [Stephen Tanzer, 03/01/2017]

Anticipated maturity: 2027-2040