Domaine de la Romanee-Conti - Montrachet 2019

Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy

Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch

Falstaff

Medium, bright ruby, deep core, purple reflections, subtle brightening on the rim. Black forest berries, blackberries and fresh cassis, dried rose petals, candied violets. After just a few minutes the entire aromatic arsenal of the biggest Pinot Noir on the planet opens up. Despite its youth it is already incredibly multi-faceted, underpinned with exotic spices and mineral contours, some Earl Grey and liquorice, very promising. Complex on the palate, good fruit expression and silky soft tannins, juicy red fruit nuances, perfect acid balance, pure elegance and balance, enormous length and assured ageing potential. There is no better way to make Pinot Noir, indeed perhaps no better way to make red wine; a wine from another dimension that is only at the very beginning of its future, which unfortunately has only been granted to a select few.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

he 2019 Montrachet Grand Cru is a broad, dramatic wine, bursting with aromas of honeyed pears, orange oil, buttered toast, fresh mint, peaches and even tropical fruits. Full-bodied, thick and unctuous, it's ripe and textural, with a fleshy core of fruit, lively acids and a long, expansive finish. Readers might want to think of this powerful, broad-shouldered wine as a modern-day version of the 1989.

This was a particularly memorable tasting at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Revisiting the bottled 2019s was thrilling, as these are some of the most sensual, dramatic young wines I've ever tasted at this address; and the young 2020s, tasted from barrel (with the exception of several cuvées that had been recently racked), show immense potential too.

A few small evolutions have been made in the cellars in the last few years, with Tonnellerie La Grange increasingly in evidence alongside historically dominant François Frères on the red side of the ledger, and barrels from Séguin Morey, Damy and Taransaud to be found in the new room devoted to the domaine's white wines. Bottling is also a touch earlier than in the past.