1996 Romanee St Vivant

Tasted blind in Hong Kong, the Romanée-Saint-Vivant 1996 from Domaine Leroy was actually a last minute substitute donated by a generous guest following a string of corked wines. It is an absolutely stunning wine that transfixed everyone before we knew its identity (and here, I must confess that I suggested it was Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.) It's actually better than that. It has a heavenly bouquet of black cherries, cold limestone and wilted flower petals that you could just sit back and inhale all day. The palate is exquisitely balanced with filigree tannin, extremely pure and refined with astonishing tension and precision from start to finish. It's the vinous equivalent of watching "Swan Lake."

Extremely unevolved nose offers a raw fruit quality as well as notes of licorice, oriental spices and an earthy, truffley perfume. Fabulous chewy sweetness in the mouth; vibrant acidity gives this thick, multifaceted wine extraordinary penetration and cut. Wonderfully long, subtle aftertaste. Amazingly complex juice. This should carry a warning label: "Caution! Extreme Vinosity."