Domaine de la Romanee Conti
Perhaps the most elegant nose, also the most sensual. In the mouth, however, one finds a rigour supplied by beautiful acidity that is balanced by notes of very ripe grapes. An all together massive and fleshy wine.
Burghound
This is also very primary and backward as hints of supremely elegant and seductive exceptionally ripe black fruit aromas replete with soy, hoisin, clove and anise nuances merge into wonderfully fine and refined linear and firmly structured flavors that culminate in a precise, pure and driving finish that goes on and on. This is a really impressive effort that offers terrific potential but fans of this wine should note that it is arguably more masculine than it usually is yet at the same time utterly seamless. A 'wow' wine that is perhaps the ripest of the DRC '05s. A true knockout that is sheer class.
Drink 2023+
Score: 97.
—Allen Meadows,
January
01,
2008.
Wine Advocate
Just as this year’s Echezeaux challenges the quality of the Grands-Echezeaux, another surprise of the vintage is a spectacular showing for the 2005 Romanee-St.-Vivant. A startlingly dark, mouth-watering amalgam of purple plum paste, blackberry preserves, bitter chocolate, toasted walnut, soy, and raw beef intrigues the nose. On the palate, this cleaves to the dark side, with viscous, mouth-coating concentration of lightly-cooked black fruits, charred meat, mysterious forest floor complexity, and bitter-sweet florality, but simultaneously delivers a vibratory finish like that of the energetic Grands-Echezeaux. With its palpable extract, profound personality, and refined but abundant tannins, this is surely wine to set aside for at least a decade.
Score: 96-97.
—David Schildknecht,
April
2007.
International Wine Cellar
Deep red-ruby. Multidimensional nose combines blackberry, violet and minerals with exotic spices, earth and underbrush. Then juicy and gripping in the mouth, combining outstanding density and a distinctly light touch. This, too, boasts superb energy and sappiness to its flavors of red fruits, spices and earth. Wonderfully complex already but youthfully tight, firmly structured and built for a long and slow evolution in bottle. The tannins are solid but not hard. A great vintage for this cuvee and likely to evolve for two or three decades, at a minimum. 95(+?) points.
Score: 95.
—Stephen Tanzer,
March
2008.
All sizes are 750mL unless otherwise noted.
Vintages and ratings subject to change at any time.
All pricing and availability subject to change.
