2006 Romanee Conti

An extraordinary as well as extraordinarily intense aromatic display greets you from the glass of 2006 Romanee-Conti. Rose petals, griotte cherries, almond extract, mint, and cinnamon once again put me in mind of archetypal pinot with a soupcon of Gewurztraminer. The remarkable perfume and spice continue inner-mouth, allied to a silken textural refinement (as if the tannins were self-dissolving); to pure, fresh, but not at all superficially sweet cherry and raspberry essence; and to deep, marrowy meatiness and hints of truffle and forest floor. This pivots at midpoint, as it were – though far more subtly than does its Richebourg sibling – from perfume and fruit to almost sinister animal and mineral suggestions. The finish here is at once positively ethereal and deeply, darkly mysterious, like lingering harmony at the extremes of audibility. I suspect it will also outlive the other wines from this estate and vintage. The Domaine de La Romanee-Conti harvested from the 20th-25th of September (commencing with Richebourg) and subjected the crop to rigorous sorting. Understandably, the viticultural meticulousness at this estate as well as its team of some 60 highly-skilled and –motivated pickers paid dividends in the context of a challenging vintage. Director Aubert de Villaine and cellarmaster Bernard Noblet vinified their 2006s with a lesser share of stems and whole clusters, and exposed them to new wood for a shorter period (thereafter racking into older barrels) than the corresponding 2005s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

(445) Good medium-deep red. Wonderfully pure, penetrating aromas of cassis, black raspberry, minerals and spices. Denser and more spherical than La Tache, offering a compelling combination of raspberry and mineral high notes and lower earth tones. Wonderfully tactile, building finish saturates the taste buds with flavor.

More pink than garnet and especially bright, even glossy. Aromas are both sweetly fruited and just a little savoury. A mildly meaty and darker character to the fruit. Overlaid on all that a fine oaky spice. Fine and tight like a pressed suit. Just a little peppery. Already fragrant and juicy even though there is a real depth of unopened fruit and savour. Fine and deceptively firm. Lost count of the Caudalies (the units used by some in Burgundy to measure length). (JH)