1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
I have had the good fortune of tasting the 1985 La Tâche Grand Cru a number of times over the years. This is an especially fine bottle. Intensely aromatic, the 1985 shows the gentle patina of age in its gracious, mid-weight personality and understated depth. Dried herbs, spice, rosemary, mint and coffee all lift from the glass, playing off of a core of black cherry/plum fruit effortlessly. The edges are starting to fray a bit, so I would not push my luck on cellaring the 1985 too much further. This is about as good as it gets for the 1985. Tasted at a private dinner.
Critic scores
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
I have never regarded the 1985 La Tâche as a perfect wine, but it is a gorgeous Pinot Noir. It is open-knit on the nose and offers wild strawberry, peppermint, mulberry, pressed rose petals and light mineral scents. It doesn’t have the horsepower you might expect. The palate is medium-bodied but lighter than some 1985s. Ergo, it has wonderful transparency and filigree tannins. Poised and refined, it gains intensity in the glass with an ethereal, unassuming finish. Utterly delightful, and I am most grateful to the gentleman who bought this bottle along to share. Tasted at Robert's dinner in Beaune.
The 1985 La Tâche Grand Cru has never convinced me that it belongs amongst the best vintages except for a splendid magnum drunk in Hong Kong. The two or three bottles I had have always seemed to promise much, but delivered little. It is not a bad wine per se. Quite mature in colour it offers quite a herbaceous bouquet not unlike the 1985 Grands Echézeaux, but its leafiness seems at odds with a warm growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with moderate depth, and satisfying if not memorable complexity and a very linear finish. It is perfectly enjoyable but I just do not think the domaine oversaw a great La Tâche unless they bottled the best barrels in larger formats. Tasted at a private dinner in London.
About the producer
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti or simply “DRC” is without doubt the most famous domaine in Burgundy and one of the most famous producers on earth. The Grand Cru vineyard from which it takes its name produces the world’s most expensive wine by a long margin.