From bottles out of the Yalumba museum cellar. The first bottle was brilliant, the second was even better. Still almost primary, with its core of intense cherry fruit. There’s sandalwood, aniseed, Hoisin and rose petals with air. It is velvety but oh so powerful and balance is exquisite. The finish drives on and expands. Quite simply, one of the greatest wines ever made.
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Expressive nose displaying unbelievably concentrated black fruit, blackberry concentrate, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, licorice, Vosne spice, oolong tea, rose, dark spices and limestone. The stem note is masked by concentrated fruit. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, rich and opulent but also beautifully detailed and harmonious, perfecta mount of acidity and mineral, and a long perfectly ripe black fruit driven finish with licorice and rose at the end. This remains incredibly youthful. It can easily improve for a few more decades, i.e. gaining sous bois and strong Chinese medicinal cabinet.
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"Casual DRC BYO": 04857/16640. Four years later, this legend has barely aged a day. Immediately captivating with its completeness and largeness, yet so delicate without giving out its full self, just purity of red and dark fruit under the enormous disguise. How many more decades? Again, candidate for perfection, but still not there yet in terms of its full potential pleasure. 99-100
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La Tache and '96 Champagne (Atlanta): Pop and rest. WOTF. Many had the '01 as favorite here, but I really enjoyed this bottle. Dark and brooding, but a sensual depth and lots of balance. I went back to this bottle all night long for just another sip as it really held on for hours and hours of enjoyment.
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Nose: Blackberry, Bruised Strawberry and Kirsch. Dark red and black fruit melded with sweet woodsmoke up front. Then the nose offers an exotic mélange of pen ink, mint/eucalyptus, camphor, funky mushroom and orange peel. So much going on in the nose.
Palate: Graceful and completely linear across the palate, and it just builds in the mouth. Pixilated strawberry, blackberry on entry. Followed by vivid expressions of cedar, mint and sousbois that are so richly delivered across the palate. Firm tannin and some hard woody notes in there distract from an otherwise elegant wine.
Finish: Completely explosive and penetrating finish. This just overwhelms the senses in some ways as if finishes out. Finishes very firm and drying, which suggests how much additional time this may need.
Once in a lifetime with this wine most likely, and very glad I was there to try it. I must say in drinking the dregs at the end of the night I found the spicy camphor to be the signature of this particular bottle. Not sure this created the obsessive bug for me with DRC, but I certainly now understand why it is fetishized.
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This is my second encounter with this wine in a week and again I find this massive and ungiving right now. Loads of potential for sure, but not necessarily open for business right now. Tonight I prefer ‘00 (and obviously ‘90) beside this as there is so much more obviously La Tâche character on display. I don’t believe this wine should be opened now. Consistent with last week. Technical 97 but shows like 95 - 96 at the moment. Decades ahead of this...
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La Tâche 1985-2010 Vertical NYC (Le Pavillon NYC): This is the wine that blew my mind off this entire night! It started with full-on ripe black fruits with kaleidoscopic of mints, mushroom, mints, leather. In the mouth, it is strikingly muscular occupying the entire palate with layers of fruits, wood and leather slowly unfolding themselves. Exceptionally long finish that lasted for minutes.
It was a perfect wine for me and a knock on my head reminding myself why I love drinking wines.
Unfortunately though like most beautiful fireworks, this wine doesn't last long. It faded away quickly in about 1-hr in the glass. I regret deeply that I didn't drink all of the wine in time before it turned pumpkins. The score only reflects that unforgettable 30 mins of pinnacle.
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La Tâche Vertical (Le Pavillon): Powerful, intense, robust, seriously massive wine. Black cherry. So young, almost frustratingly so. Obviously monumental, but right now ’00 to ’10 drink better in my unpopular opinion. Powerful and stuffed palate, a little bruising now. Excellent, no doubt about it, just massive and maybe masking the finesse and elegance that was so beautifully on display in the ’00, ’01, ’02 flight. Lush and rich. Wait to open these. technical 97-98, drinking now ~95 to my taste.
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incredibly elegant and smooth, rich, spicy and long. this id an almost perfect bottle of wine surprisingly unaffected by the strength of the year, its perfectly ready now and will last for a long time
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A Ramonet Montrachet Vertical & 1999 Grand Cru Horizontal, Mostly Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (The Grill - New York NY): In DRC 1999 horizontal. Opened 4 hours before serving. There is so much here, but it was clearly closed and faintly hinting at its potential when first served. Gradually and begrudgingly, aromas and rich flavors emerged, elegantly to start, then more powerful when finished a few hours later. 95 point wine when finished, but this needs more time and certainly has 97-98+ point potential with more air and/or cellar time.
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Two friends sharing three bottles of wine - Part 4 (Ruth’s Chris, Tysons Corner, VA): Explosive nose displaying intense perfectly ripe black and red fruit, blackberry, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, raspberry concentrate, a hint of licorice, Chinese medicine, Vosne spice, black tea, espresso bean, liquid smoke, lavender, a hint of DRC stem, sandalwood and limestone dust. Unbelievable concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated black fruit, unctuous, rich and opulent yet silky and sensual, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, mostly masked very fine tannins and the finish that never ends. It confirms once again that this is the biggest and most concentrated La Tache at least since the 90, only equal by the 15. It remains very youthful and doesn’t show much sous bois yet it is incredibly complex. If you prefer a lot of sous bois and tertiary notes as I do, this can easily improve for three decades or more. Monumental!
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1999 DRC Horizontal. A killer but you knew that didn’t you. There’s a fine balance of acidity throughout this wine that’s perfectly executed. Superior to RC in this vintage. Floral, stem and achingly pure aromatics. There’s all the persistence and depth of flavor you’d want but never overdone and extremely polished. (11687/16640)
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During a Paulée dinner, so only brief impressions. OMG, for a 20 year old wine this was properly closed an young. There is a massive structure here, all is there in spades. Impressive but I would give this some more time . 96-98 window is my best guess.
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09562/16640. This is enormous, and at twenty years of age not remotely ready. The nose is explosive and hard to describe, with evenly distributed mineral driving all the subtle fruit and flower and a cool herbal backbone. On the palate it is immediately legendary: weightless, concentrated and never-ending. Need not to say more; seductive, pure joy. 99+
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A flight of three La Taches. The 91 was very consistent with my last bottle. Drank alongside the 96 and 99 La Tache. It was a great flight of wines. The surprise of the night for me was how strong the 96 was showing. I still found the 99 not ready for business but clearly a great wine in the making. I gave the 1996 97 points and the 1999 99 points for potential. I found the 96 the best with the food.
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1999 La Tache Crazily wild and intense stem aromatics. Green grass and soy sauce. Incredibly clean and the words intensity and persistence keep coming back. (15311/16640)
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Drank very well, but didn't exhibit the highs that I've experienced with this vintage. From the same on release purchase/parcel that I've had a number of times, so not clear why. It was very good, and actually was La Tache of the night (99,96,91,78,66) even when somewhat under performing.
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DRC 1999 tasting, impeccable provenance. wine nr 4. Now we're talking, this is what's DRC is all about. Discreet elegant nose with layers after layers, hints of exclusive top quality french oak. Blackberry, violet, licorice, exotic spices, jasmine, cigarr. Highly complex nose, growths significantly with time in the glass. A notch higher on palate intensity. Powerful fruit and spices, yet super sophisticated and elegant. A wine that makes you smile and feel happy, so pure and clean. Handmade, heavenly!!! 98p
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Not much to report on this wine - it is so good. An amazing nose, beautiful on the palate and finish, unctuous and as close to perfect as can be hoped.
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Weekend with Eddie - Part 1 (Marea, New York City): This is an imposing and perhaps overwhelming wine. Incredibly youthful nose displaying ripe yet pure red and black fruits, a hint of soy, lavender and strong note of stem. Incredible concentration, beautifully layered fruits, imposing structure and extremely long finish that ends with earth and stem notes. This is still very much primary and it will need at least a couple of decades to reach the peak. For my palate, so darn impressive and in some sense, a bit overwhelming. WOTL for many, certainly the favorite La Tache. I actually preferred the 05 slightly.
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It is still fresh and youthful just showing a touch of meat and Hoisin development on the nose. It is dense, sweet and powerful with a core of sweet cherry and all sorts of floral and earth nuance. It is silky and powerful with so much drive to the finish.
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The 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche is a transcendent bottle, wherein no one element dominates, it's in absolute harmony, not unlike a great piece of music or art. It has pronounced power, and is at the same time weightless and ethereal. Layers of crushed raspberries, currants, blackberries and plum give substance to more fleeting layers of exotic spice, minerals, rose petals, black tea, and fresh alfalfa hay, all of which crescendos in a seemingly endless finish. A profound wine.
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Most Epic Burgundy Dinner (Boulevard - San Francisco CA): Served double blind. While this had been open several hours before serving, I wasn't thrilled immediately, thinking it slightly too ripe and opulent, slightly lacking in balance. Within 15 minutes of being poured, however, the structural elements came into greater balance. Rich and ripe with lots of Chinese five spice, this probably had the greatest density and concentration in the flight. I was able to correctly identify this once we were told the 6 wines in the flight.
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The Thirteenth Annual Stonefields Dinner (Guelph, Ontario, Canada): This was very stemmy, a trait I usually quite enjoy in my burgundy, but this was too much....it dominated the wine as opposed to adding complexity. It was also quite herbal with dried flowers, cheer and mineral flavours. The palate showed sweet spice, herbs, and stems. The texture was quite nice but it was frankly a touch simple and underwhelming. The finish was medium with moderate complexity. This was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the evening as this had a chance to be a real star. Perhaps we caught it in a closed period.
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Baller dinner honoring Chicago winos -- 99 La Tache, 99 Leroy RSV, 07 SE & etc (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Expressive nose of perfectly ripe crushed red and black berries, incredible amount of mineral and sap, black tea, a hint of light soy and Asian spices and stem that contributes to the incredible complexity. Incredibly concentrated and energetic palate, layers upon layers of sweet black fruit, intense yet very detailed and precise, formidable structure and unbelievably long finish. It will need another twenty years to be at the peak, almost overwhelming at the moment. The biggest La Tache of my life.
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Two HDH Dinners (Ada St. and Bistronomic): From magnum. In a fabulous lineup, the nose was in a class by itself. Fascinating Asian spice and dried floral notes. A sweetness and a purity on the nose that all other wines tonight lacked. The palate, while excellent, was certainly holding back. Outstanding detail, and a million flavors but you could tell this will just explode one day. I hope I can try this again when it does. Long, pure and lingering finish.
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Great Dinner Wines (Healesville Victoria): Will be 100+ in another ten years but because the Rousseau next to it blew everybody away and was the far more approachable of the two today it gets a rather meaningless score. Meaningless because these two wines are perfect. The Rousseau has reached the peak a bit sooner than the LaTache but it will also be off the scale, other worldly, with more time. A great opportunity to see this wine and will I ever get the chance to see it again? Who knows but at the price it commands today I doubt Ill ever be able to stash a few away. Tonight this has been donated by James and I am absolutely blown away by it. Dont expect to see that hedonistic LaTache aroma for at least ten years I reckon as this wine is backward. There are hints of beauty in this. At the moment its losing its rawness of youth but is like a sleeping giant yet to awake. Its all there, power, finesse mindblowing stuff. Two of the most profound wines I've ever had. I will make myself a promise to try this wine again one day somehow but not in the next decade.
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1999 La Tache (Monople) Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
I knew this wine had some time to go before reaching a drinking window, but wanted to show a wine that is coming to that point in a few years. Also knew that the various components and attributes would be favorably demonstrated.
Deeper in color than the 2000; much more pronounced on the nose as well; penetrating and intense aromas of deep spicy fruit, with the floral components showing more demonstrably along with some toasty oak; these aromas became even more intense after another half hour in the glass; enters with some massive fruit coating the mouth and moving to the back of the palate – very deep; still elegant, harmonious, but quite powerful; sweet edged dark cherry, with a pleasing kind of tanginess; persistent fruit keeps coming in droves backed by soft tannins and a nice level of acidity; finish runs out and stays there a long time, boasting deep cherry fruit and spiciness; long, long, with my palate screaming for another mouthful once this eventually subsided. It is close to being ready, I think, but still needs more time to round out a few edges and become a complete wine. It is truly remarkable, with a full complement of extremely attractive attributes – such a powerhouse but with a subtlety on the palate that says delicate and seemingly in full harmony. I wrote down “How does a wine get that good?”
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Although its infanticide, I've had a few bottles of this that showed extremely well in spite of youth. I think the 99 is back in its shell, as this bottle could not be coaxed to show its greatness. (From pristine provenance, so likely the wine, not the bottle.)
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Tasted at the domaine. Guesses all over the place. I don't think any of us called LT. Medium color. Spice, soy. Moderate tannins. Great balance. Long, long finish. I can't say I was as wowed as expected, once I was told the vintage…I wonder about this particular bottle, given it's reputation. Perhaps it's not in a good place at this time, slightly off bottle, etc?? Don't get me wrong…It's still quite good, but I actually preferred the '91. 95
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This is the real thing. One of the best wines I ever had. Very dense, powerful, yet seductive, smooth. Mysterious wine, oriental. Incredible length. Still an infant, but when given time to evolve in the glass... an absolute wow, wine. 20+
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France 2012 - Côte d'Or; 7/16/2012-7/21/2012 (Beaune): Where to begin? Mesmerizing and incredibly deep nose of Asian spice, plums, currants and dark cherries that seem to be coming at you in three dimensions. “Textural nirvana” as one CT user noted and couldn’t agree more. So pure and elegant yet structured and extensive. The tannins are fine yet firm with excellent acidity and the finish is endless. On the palate the fruit is sappy and clean. I’d love to taste this in 10-20years and see what it evolves into because even at this incredibly young stage it’s a remarkably complex, deep and distinctive wine of extraordinary character and textural purity. A truly memorable experience for me. Exceptional. 96+
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Wow, what a wine! A tour de force. Hugely dense, viscous nose. On the palate, this is very pure and showing an incredible melange of flavors. Perfect balance, but totally not at its peak at this point. This has the intensity of a great wine and the elements for aging.
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So soft with big rich and dense nose of flowers and minerals, suculent nose - so ethereal. The palate is fresh and bright, so smooth and pure, long and rich. Perhaps not showing the density right now but since the wine is so young, that will come with time. It has such a smooth quality - a real wow wine. As it sits in the glass, it develops some firmness and bite.
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Big Lumber Burgundies (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Utterly, hauntingly perfect. Endless layers of spice and nuanced dark fruit. Textural nirvana. Ethereally beautiful and expansive. A panoply of flavors dance across the palate, building to an endless finish. Astonishing and emotionally thrilling. As close to a religious experience as wine can get.
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My husband is a burg nut and he was so excited to open this bottle. The wine was pristine and has been in our cellar since it arrived and it was immaculate. The wine was decanted for hours and I have to say it was magnificinet in aroma without a taste. Aroma was concentrated and immense. The first sip was awesome and I do not like Burgundy. This bottle however, was ridiculously good. Very spicy and smelled like Asian four spice mix with plum pudding in the beginning. The mid palate was overwhelmingly pinot extract with plum and herb perfume and smoky meat. I found the most amazing thing about this wine was the finish. Very deep concentrated and full for a pinot..............I guess that is why DRC La Tache is held in such high regard. I would rather a Bdx but this wine was extremely good. The finish was very long and very complex. My hubby is still smiling over his last sip.
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Though obviously the full expression is a few dozen years away, the balance is simply impeccable. Pure perfection in every sense of the word. There is no question, this was the greatest young Burgundy I have ever tasted.
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Kitchen Tasting Group Does Beaver Creek – Day Two: This wine is simply monumental. There's no way to do it justice in a note. The nose gives intense, piercing aromatics of dark fruit, plum, spice, earth, mushroom, mineral, and more. It is soaring and reveals layers of complexity despite its youthfullness. A few more years should help immensely. In the mouth this coats the palate with expansive flavor of pure red fruit and appealing earthiness. It is both opulent and structured at the same time. No signs of oak anywhere -- just La Tache. The finish may well prove to be immortal -- in my mind anyway. This wine elicited much debate on how it stacks up against the 1990. They may well be cut from the same cloth, although I have trouble imagining anything matching the majesty of the 1990. If a wine can do it, this would be the wine.
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this wine makes me angry. angry because i can no longer afford it, angry because it plays with your emotions. this is the pinnacle of wine drinking - and that is coming from a guy who sh-ts on so many burgs. this is outrageous, complex, stimulating, ever evolving, captivating - and overall just a damn complete wine. my wife and i agreed that this was plain and simple something special, impossible to articulate.
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The nose is a little closed but in the mouth it is just so pure, layered, dense and sweet. I have had this wine a couple of times and it has to be the greatest young red wine I have ever tasted. The thing that really excites is the marvellous chain of tannin at the end. The wine just goes on and on.
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Dark red. Dizzyingly complex bouquet with scents of dairy products. This is not closed at all. Stupendous concentration of fruit with the most delightful and delicious sweet flavour impression and text book structure and precision. Yet in spite of all the glitz, there is a clear sign of class and style here. The wine is so thick and oily with velvet like texture. Ingeniously complex with a never ending aftertaste. This wine is simply SUPERB, and I am very happy to be holding a few bottles?
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This has got to be the greatest red Burgundy I have ever drunk(infanticide I know). The aromas comprise of smells that titalate the olfactory senses. It has a level of complexity that is peerless,smells of licorice,leather,dark fruits and asian spice abound. The palate is intense and the mouth is just coated with sublime flavours. The one thing that sets the 99 apart is the tannin structure. The tannin is very big but sugar coated and long.There is a lineage between this and the 78 however the 78 has reached it's apogee,I suspect this will develop over 40+ years. My WOTN!
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Dark red appearance. Pencil, leather and tree bark on the nose. Fat and flowy, but incredibly light and elegant. Wonderfully complex bouquet. Multi-dimensional in the mouth, and packed with ripe tannin. Great finesse to this wine. Very long finish. This should turn out top-notch in about 10 years.
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4/17/2024 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
From bottles out of the Yalumba museum cellar. The first bottle was brilliant, the second was even better. Still almost primary, with its core of intense cherry fruit. There’s sandalwood, aniseed, Hoisin and rose petals with air. It is velvety but oh so powerful and balance is exquisite. The finish drives on and expands. Quite simply, one of the greatest wines ever made.
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4/2/2024 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Expressive nose displaying unbelievably concentrated black fruit, blackberry concentrate, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, licorice, Vosne spice, oolong tea, rose, dark spices and limestone. The stem note is masked by concentrated fruit. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, rich and opulent but also beautifully detailed and harmonious, perfecta mount of acidity and mineral, and a long perfectly ripe black fruit driven finish with licorice and rose at the end. This remains incredibly youthful. It can easily improve for a few more decades, i.e. gaining sous bois and strong Chinese medicinal cabinet.
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6/8/2023 - hprphf wrote: 99 Points
"Casual DRC BYO": 04857/16640. Four years later, this legend has barely aged a day. Immediately captivating with its completeness and largeness, yet so delicate without giving out its full self, just purity of red and dark fruit under the enormous disguise. How many more decades? Again, candidate for perfection, but still not there yet in terms of its full potential pleasure. 99-100
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5/27/2023 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 97 Points
Restrained fruit, with more earthy notes to this bottle. Emerging dark spice. Very nice, if still young.
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4/14/2023 - vetty Likes this wine: 99 Points
01874. Drinking together with 66, 87, 95, 05, 08, 11, 17 la tâche 99 is the best.
Aroma of leather, fur, mint, plum, ume.
Full body! Palate is not that clean but very powerful. Very mouth coating. as wide and broad as the ocean.
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11/7/2022 - BradE wrote:
La Tache in Atlanta: Always a standout, and a great bottle. Got better and better over the night, which implies a three or four hour decant next time.
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11/4/2022 - shifter wrote:
La Tache and '96 Champagne (Atlanta): Pop and rest. WOTF. Many had the '01 as favorite here, but I really enjoyed this bottle. Dark and brooding, but a sensual depth and lots of balance. I went back to this bottle all night long for just another sip as it really held on for hours and hours of enjoyment.
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11/3/2022 - RockinCabs wrote: 99 Points
Nose: Blackberry, Bruised Strawberry and Kirsch. Dark red and black fruit melded with sweet woodsmoke up front. Then the nose offers an exotic mélange of pen ink, mint/eucalyptus, camphor, funky mushroom and orange peel. So much going on in the nose.
Palate: Graceful and completely linear across the palate, and it just builds in the mouth. Pixilated strawberry, blackberry on entry. Followed by vivid expressions of cedar, mint and sousbois that are so richly delivered across the palate. Firm tannin and some hard woody notes in there distract from an otherwise elegant wine.
Finish: Completely explosive and penetrating finish. This just overwhelms the senses in some ways as if finishes out. Finishes very firm and drying, which suggests how much additional time this may need.
Once in a lifetime with this wine most likely, and very glad I was there to try it. I must say in drinking the dregs at the end of the night I found the spicy camphor to be the signature of this particular bottle. Not sure this created the obsessive bug for me with DRC, but I certainly now understand why it is fetishized.
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10/15/2022 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 97 Points
Deep and dense. Wonderful potential here, but still early. 97+
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1/7/2022 - esq Likes this wine: 99 Points
AA
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11/3/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 96 Points
This is my second encounter with this wine in a week and again I find this massive and ungiving right now. Loads of potential for sure, but not necessarily open for business right now. Tonight I prefer ‘00 (and obviously ‘90) beside this as there is so much more obviously La Tâche character on display. I don’t believe this wine should be opened now. Consistent with last week. Technical 97 but shows like 95 - 96 at the moment. Decades ahead of this...
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10/26/2021 - overkloud Likes this wine: 99 Points
La Tâche 1985-2010 Vertical NYC (Le Pavillon NYC): This is the wine that blew my mind off this entire night! It started with full-on ripe black fruits with kaleidoscopic of mints, mushroom, mints, leather. In the mouth, it is strikingly muscular occupying the entire palate with layers of fruits, wood and leather slowly unfolding themselves. Exceptionally long finish that lasted for minutes.
It was a perfect wine for me and a knock on my head reminding myself why I love drinking wines.
Unfortunately though like most beautiful fireworks, this wine doesn't last long. It faded away quickly in about 1-hr in the glass. I regret deeply that I didn't drink all of the wine in time before it turned pumpkins. The score only reflects that unforgettable 30 mins of pinnacle.
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10/26/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 97 Points
La Tâche Vertical (Le Pavillon): Powerful, intense, robust, seriously massive wine. Black cherry. So young, almost frustratingly so. Obviously monumental, but right now ’00 to ’10 drink better in my unpopular opinion. Powerful and stuffed palate, a little bruising now. Excellent, no doubt about it, just massive and maybe masking the finesse and elegance that was so beautifully on display in the ’00, ’01, ’02 flight. Lush and rich. Wait to open these. technical 97-98, drinking now ~95 to my taste.
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10/8/2021 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 98 Points
incredibly elegant and smooth, rich, spicy and long. this id an almost perfect bottle of wine surprisingly unaffected by the strength of the year, its perfectly ready now and will last for a long time
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6/13/2021 - Bobby Burgundy wrote: 97 Points
Needs a lot more time to really hit the mark!!!
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4/14/2021 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 97 Points
Marvelous complexity on the nose. Well integrated and smooth palate. 97-98+
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3/16/2021 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fantastic bottle. A multitude of elements harmoniously combined here. Great depth of fruit.
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12/25/2020 - BradE wrote:
A beautiful wine, with literally decades of life ahead.
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11/23/2020 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 97 Points
Compact and smooth. Evolving nicely.
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2/24/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote:
A Ramonet Montrachet Vertical & 1999 Grand Cru Horizontal, Mostly Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (The Grill - New York NY): In DRC 1999 horizontal. Opened 4 hours before serving. There is so much here, but it was clearly closed and faintly hinting at its potential when first served. Gradually and begrudgingly, aromas and rich flavors emerged, elegantly to start, then more powerful when finished a few hours later. 95 point wine when finished, but this needs more time and certainly has 97-98+ point potential with more air and/or cellar time.
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8/22/2019 - dcwino wrote: 100 Points
Two friends sharing three bottles of wine - Part 4 (Ruth’s Chris, Tysons Corner, VA): Explosive nose displaying intense perfectly ripe black and red fruit, blackberry, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, raspberry concentrate, a hint of licorice, Chinese medicine, Vosne spice, black tea, espresso bean, liquid smoke, lavender, a hint of DRC stem, sandalwood and limestone dust. Unbelievable concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated black fruit, unctuous, rich and opulent yet silky and sensual, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, mostly masked very fine tannins and the finish that never ends. It confirms once again that this is the biggest and most concentrated La Tache at least since the 90, only equal by the 15. It remains very youthful and doesn’t show much sous bois yet it is incredibly complex. If you prefer a lot of sous bois and tertiary notes as I do, this can easily improve for three decades or more. Monumental!
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5/4/2019 - fcxj wrote: 98 Points
1999 DRC Horizontal. A killer but you knew that didn’t you. There’s a fine balance of acidity throughout this wine that’s perfectly executed. Superior to RC in this vintage. Floral, stem and achingly pure aromatics. There’s all the persistence and depth of flavor you’d want but never overdone and extremely polished. (11687/16640)
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3/24/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 97 Points
During a Paulée dinner, so only brief impressions. OMG, for a 20 year old wine this was properly closed an young. There is a massive structure here, all is there in spades. Impressive but I would give this some more time . 96-98 window is my best guess.
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1/9/2019 - hprphf Likes this wine: 99 Points
09562/16640. This is enormous, and at twenty years of age not remotely ready. The nose is explosive and hard to describe, with evenly distributed mineral driving all the subtle fruit and flower and a cool herbal backbone. On the palate it is immediately legendary: weightless, concentrated and never-ending. Need not to say more; seductive, pure joy. 99+
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11/13/2018 - burgcamel wrote: 99 Points
A flight of three La Taches. The 91 was very consistent with my last bottle. Drank alongside the 96 and 99 La Tache. It was a great flight of wines. The surprise of the night for me was how strong the 96 was showing. I still found the 99 not ready for business but clearly a great wine in the making. I gave the 1996 97 points and the 1999 99 points for potential. I found the 96 the best with the food.
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10/3/2018 - fcxj wrote: 98 Points
1999 La Tache Crazily wild and intense stem aromatics. Green grass and soy sauce. Incredibly clean and the words intensity and persistence keep coming back. (15311/16640)
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9/6/2017 - BradE wrote:
Drank very well, but didn't exhibit the highs that I've experienced with this vintage. From the same on release purchase/parcel that I've had a number of times, so not clear why. It was very good, and actually was La Tache of the night (99,96,91,78,66) even when somewhat under performing.
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5/24/2017 - Markus IWC wrote: 98 Points
DRC 1999 tasting, impeccable provenance. wine nr 4. Now we're talking, this is what's DRC is all about. Discreet elegant nose with layers after layers, hints of exclusive top quality french oak. Blackberry, violet, licorice, exotic spices, jasmine, cigarr. Highly complex nose, growths significantly with time in the glass. A notch higher on palate intensity. Powerful fruit and spices, yet super sophisticated and elegant. A wine that makes you smile and feel happy, so pure and clean. Handmade, heavenly!!! 98p
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3/7/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fresh, and somewhat closed. Nutmeg and clove emerging but the palate needs at least 15 years. Will be a great wine. 96-97+
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6/1/2016 - lepetitchateau wrote: 99 Points
Not much to report on this wine - it is so good. An amazing nose, beautiful on the palate and finish, unctuous and as close to perfect as can be hoped.
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4/15/2016 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Weekend with Eddie - Part 1 (Marea, New York City): This is an imposing and perhaps overwhelming wine. Incredibly youthful nose displaying ripe yet pure red and black fruits, a hint of soy, lavender and strong note of stem. Incredible concentration, beautifully layered fruits, imposing structure and extremely long finish that ends with earth and stem notes. This is still very much primary and it will need at least a couple of decades to reach the peak. For my palate, so darn impressive and in some sense, a bit overwhelming. WOTL for many, certainly the favorite La Tache. I actually preferred the 05 slightly.
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4/14/2016 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
It is still fresh and youthful just showing a touch of meat and Hoisin development on the nose. It is dense, sweet and powerful with a core of sweet cherry and all sorts of floral and earth nuance. It is silky and powerful with so much drive to the finish.
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1/6/2016 - Christine Havens Likes this wine: 99 Points
The 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche is a transcendent bottle, wherein no one element dominates, it's in absolute harmony, not unlike a great piece of music or art. It has pronounced power, and is at the same time weightless and ethereal. Layers of crushed raspberries, currants, blackberries and plum give substance to more fleeting layers of exotic spice, minerals, rose petals, black tea, and fresh alfalfa hay, all of which crescendos in a seemingly endless finish. A profound wine.
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3/12/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 97 Points
Most Epic Burgundy Dinner (Boulevard - San Francisco CA): Served double blind. While this had been open several hours before serving, I wasn't thrilled immediately, thinking it slightly too ripe and opulent, slightly lacking in balance. Within 15 minutes of being poured, however, the structural elements came into greater balance. Rich and ripe with lots of Chinese five spice, this probably had the greatest density and concentration in the flight. I was able to correctly identify this once we were told the 6 wines in the flight.
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12/6/2014 - Dave Canada wrote: 92 Points
The Thirteenth Annual Stonefields Dinner (Guelph, Ontario, Canada): This was very stemmy, a trait I usually quite enjoy in my burgundy, but this was too much....it dominated the wine as opposed to adding complexity. It was also quite herbal with dried flowers, cheer and mineral flavours. The palate showed sweet spice, herbs, and stems. The texture was quite nice but it was frankly a touch simple and underwhelming.
The finish was medium with moderate complexity.
This was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the evening as this had a chance to be a real star. Perhaps we caught it in a closed period.
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8/8/2014 - dcwino wrote: 99 Points
Baller dinner honoring Chicago winos -- 99 La Tache, 99 Leroy RSV, 07 SE & etc (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Expressive nose of perfectly ripe crushed red and black berries, incredible amount of mineral and sap, black tea, a hint of light soy and Asian spices and stem that contributes to the incredible complexity. Incredibly concentrated and energetic palate, layers upon layers of sweet black fruit, intense yet very detailed and precise, formidable structure and unbelievably long finish. It will need another twenty years to be at the peak, almost overwhelming at the moment. The biggest La Tache of my life.
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5/18/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 96 Points
Two HDH Dinners (Ada St. and Bistronomic): From magnum. In a fabulous lineup, the nose was in a class by itself. Fascinating Asian spice and dried floral notes. A sweetness and a purity on the nose that all other wines tonight lacked. The palate, while excellent, was certainly holding back. Outstanding detail, and a million flavors but you could tell this will just explode one day. I hope I can try this again when it does. Long, pure and lingering finish.
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8/10/2013 - AJ72 wrote: 100 Points
Great Dinner Wines (Healesville Victoria): Will be 100+ in another ten years but because the Rousseau next to it blew everybody away and was the far more approachable of the two today it gets a rather meaningless score. Meaningless because these two wines are perfect. The Rousseau has reached the peak a bit sooner than the LaTache but it will also be off the scale, other worldly, with more time. A great opportunity to see this wine and will I ever get the chance to see it again? Who knows but at the price it commands today I doubt Ill ever be able to stash a few away. Tonight this has been donated by James and I am absolutely blown away by it. Dont expect to see that hedonistic LaTache aroma for at least ten years I reckon as this wine is backward. There are hints of beauty in this. At the moment its losing its rawness of youth but is like a sleeping giant yet to awake. Its all there, power, finesse mindblowing stuff. Two of the most profound wines I've ever had. I will make myself a promise to try this wine again one day somehow but not in the next decade.
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5/29/2013 - Hank Gillespie Likes this wine:
1999 La Tache (Monople)
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
I knew this wine had some time to go before reaching a drinking window, but wanted to show a wine that is coming to that point in a few years. Also knew that the various components and attributes would be favorably demonstrated.
Deeper in color than the 2000; much more pronounced on the nose as well; penetrating and intense aromas of deep spicy fruit, with the floral components showing more demonstrably along with some toasty oak; these aromas became even more intense after another half hour in the glass; enters with some massive fruit coating the mouth and moving to the back of the palate – very deep; still elegant, harmonious, but quite powerful; sweet edged dark cherry, with a pleasing kind of tanginess; persistent fruit keeps coming in droves backed by soft tannins and a nice level of acidity; finish runs out and stays there a long time, boasting deep cherry fruit and spiciness; long, long, with my palate screaming for another mouthful once this eventually subsided. It is close to being ready, I think, but still needs more time to round out a few edges and become a complete wine. It is truly remarkable, with a full complement of extremely attractive attributes – such a powerhouse but with a subtlety on the palate that says delicate and seemingly in full harmony. I wrote down “How does a wine get that good?”
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1/20/2013 - BradE wrote:
Although its infanticide, I've had a few bottles of this that showed extremely well in spite of youth. I think the 99 is back in its shell, as this bottle could not be coaxed to show its greatness. (From pristine provenance, so likely the wine, not the bottle.)
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12/26/2012 - rnellans wrote: 95 Points
Tasted at the domaine. Guesses all over the place. I don't think any of us called LT. Medium color. Spice, soy. Moderate tannins. Great balance. Long, long finish. I can't say I was as wowed as expected, once I was told the vintage…I wonder about this particular bottle, given it's reputation. Perhaps it's not in a good place at this time, slightly off bottle, etc?? Don't get me wrong…It's still quite good, but I actually preferred the '91. 95
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12/12/2012 - MauriceE wrote: 100 Points
This is the real thing. One of the best wines I ever had. Very dense, powerful, yet seductive, smooth. Mysterious wine, oriental. Incredible length. Still an infant, but when given time to evolve in the glass... an absolute wow, wine. 20+
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7/21/2012 - godx wrote: 96 Points
France 2012 - Côte d'Or; 7/16/2012-7/21/2012 (Beaune): Where to begin? Mesmerizing and incredibly deep nose of Asian spice, plums, currants and dark cherries that seem to be coming at you in three dimensions. “Textural nirvana” as one CT user noted and couldn’t agree more. So pure and elegant yet structured and extensive. The tannins are fine yet firm with excellent acidity and the finish is endless. On the palate the fruit is sappy and clean. I’d love to taste this in 10-20years and see what it evolves into because even at this incredibly young stage it’s a remarkably complex, deep and distinctive wine of extraordinary character and textural purity. A truly memorable experience for me. Exceptional. 96+
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8/10/2011 - lepetitchateau wrote: 97 Points
Wow, what a wine! A tour de force. Hugely dense, viscous nose. On the palate, this is very pure and showing an incredible melange of flavors. Perfect balance, but totally not at its peak at this point. This has the intensity of a great wine and the elements for aging.
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5/7/2011 - lepetitchateau wrote: 98 Points
So soft with big rich and dense nose of flowers and minerals, suculent nose - so ethereal. The palate is fresh and bright, so smooth and pure, long and rich. Perhaps not showing the density right now but since the wine is so young, that will come with time. It has such a smooth quality - a real wow wine. As it sits in the glass, it develops some firmness and bite.
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11/20/2009 - BradE wrote:
As someone at dinner said, a 105 point wine. Really, really, good. Mmmm.
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11/19/2009 - Siggy wrote: 100 Points
Big Lumber Burgundies (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Utterly, hauntingly perfect. Endless layers of spice and nuanced dark fruit. Textural nirvana. Ethereally beautiful and expansive. A panoply of flavors dance across the palate, building to an endless finish. Astonishing and emotionally thrilling. As close to a religious experience as wine can get.
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11/27/2008 - Pavie Princess wrote: 99 Points
My husband is a burg nut and he was so excited to open this bottle. The wine was pristine and has been in our cellar since it arrived and it was immaculate. The wine was decanted for hours and I have to say it was magnificinet in aroma without a taste. Aroma was concentrated and immense. The first sip was awesome and I do not like Burgundy. This bottle however, was ridiculously good. Very spicy and smelled like Asian four spice mix with plum pudding in the beginning. The mid palate was overwhelmingly pinot extract with plum and herb perfume and smoky meat. I found the most amazing thing about this wine was the finish. Very deep concentrated and full for a pinot..............I guess that is why DRC La Tache is held in such high regard. I would rather a Bdx but this wine was extremely good. The finish was very long and very complex. My hubby is still smiling over his last sip.
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6/12/2008 - Totatalitarian wrote:
Now officially the finest young Burgundy I have ever tasted. Drop dead gorgeous.
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1/21/2008 - Totatalitarian wrote:
Aromatics that are both seductive and powerful and an immense but beautifully balanced body. Among the finest young burgundies I've ever encountered.
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1/21/2008 - jamiekutch wrote:
Though obviously the full expression is a few dozen years away, the balance is simply impeccable. Pure perfection in every sense of the word. There is no question, this was the greatest young Burgundy I have ever tasted.
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9/23/2007 - BradE wrote:
Monumental.
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9/22/2007 - bon vivant wrote:
WOW - acrazu night at Brad E. See Dave Delluge note form this date:
https://www.cellartracker.com/classic/event.asp?iEvent=3728
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9/22/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 99 Points
Kitchen Tasting Group Does Beaver Creek – Day Two: This wine is simply monumental. There's no way to do it justice in a note. The nose gives intense, piercing aromatics of dark fruit, plum, spice, earth, mushroom, mineral, and more. It is soaring and reveals layers of complexity despite its youthfullness. A few more years should help immensely. In the mouth this coats the palate with expansive flavor of pure red fruit and appealing earthiness. It is both opulent and structured at the same time. No signs of oak anywhere -- just La Tache. The finish may well prove to be immortal -- in my mind anyway. This wine elicited much debate on how it stacks up against the 1990. They may well be cut from the same cloth, although I have trouble imagining anything matching the majesty of the 1990. If a wine can do it, this would be the wine.
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8/17/2005 - Koods wrote:
this wine makes me angry. angry because i can no longer afford it, angry because it plays with your emotions. this is the pinnacle of wine drinking - and that is coming from a guy who sh-ts on so many burgs. this is outrageous, complex, stimulating, ever evolving, captivating - and overall just a damn complete wine. my wife and i agreed that this was plain and simple something special, impossible to articulate.
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7/20/2005 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
The nose is a little closed but in the mouth it is just so pure, layered, dense and sweet. I have had this wine a couple of times and it has to be the greatest young red wine I have ever tasted. The thing that really excites is the marvellous chain of tannin at the end. The wine just goes on and on.
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5/9/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 98 Points
Dark red. Dizzyingly complex bouquet with scents of dairy products. This is not closed at all. Stupendous concentration of fruit with the most delightful and delicious sweet flavour impression and text book structure and precision. Yet in spite of all the glitz, there is a clear sign of class and style here. The wine is so thick and oily with velvet like texture. Ingeniously complex with a never ending aftertaste. This wine is simply SUPERB, and I am very happy to be holding a few bottles?
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11/14/2003 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
This has got to be the greatest red Burgundy I have ever drunk(infanticide I know). The aromas comprise of smells that titalate the olfactory senses. It has a level of complexity that is peerless,smells of licorice,leather,dark fruits and asian spice abound. The palate is intense and the mouth is just coated with sublime flavours. The one thing that sets the 99 apart is the tannin structure. The tannin is very big but sugar coated and long.There is a lineage between this and the 78 however the 78 has reached it's apogee,I suspect this will develop over 40+ years. My WOTN!
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3/8/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 96 Points
Dark red appearance. Pencil, leather and tree bark on the nose. Fat and flowy, but incredibly light and elegant. Wonderfully complex bouquet. Multi-dimensional in the mouth, and packed with ripe tannin. Great finesse to this wine. Very long finish. This should turn out top-notch in about 10 years.
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