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97 Robert Parker
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. Give it several years in bottle before you start throwing bouquets onto the stage, for the performance will be worth the wait. Production is 312 cases. Tasted February 2016
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Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Not only the most iconic domaine in Burgundy, but also possibly in France and even in the world. With a monopoly of the two greatest vineyards - Romanée-Conti and La Tâche - and with a generous handful of some others within Vosne-Romanée and beyond, it secured its revered position all while being completely discreet and even modest. It is co-owned by the Villaine and Leroy-Roch families, with Aubert de Villaine guiding the ship since 1974. But it can trace its roots back to the 13th century, when its first vines were planted by the monks of Saint-Vivant. They have been organic since the 1980s and biodynamic since the 1990s. They are also undoubtedly the most famous domaine in the region that uses (and has always used) whole cluster fermentation, an established technique that was eschewed by Henri Jayer, but has inspired many others in recent years. Allen Meadows, arguably the most knowledgeable Burgundy expert and critic in the world, has only given one wine a perfect score - the 1945 Romanée-Conti.