2016 Romanee St Vivant

Dark red-ruby. Distinctly wild aromas of black raspberry, crushed rock, bitter chocolate, cocoa powder and leather lifted by a spicy element. Extremely unevolved following a very late malo but already wonderfully sweet, concentrated and creamy, conveying almost painful density to its black fruit flavors. Firms up dramatically on the rocky, mineral-driven back end. Almost tough today but boasts great potential.

The 2016 Romanee Saint-Vivant Grand Cru was the last one to finish its malolactic this year. It has a very pure and focused bouquet, the Malconsorts plus one if you like, sporting outstanding mineralite and tension. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly chalky tannin, conveying plenty of energy and tension, quite sharp in the mouth with a fine bead of acidity and a sustained finish. The plus sign indicates that I am conservative with my score given the late malolactic and it would not surprise me if it steps up a level once in bottle. Dec 2017, www.robertparker.com

Here there is no reductive funk as the nose offers up notably spicy aromas of black cherry, cassis, Asian-style tea and a whiff of herbal tea. I very much like the intensity of the sleek middle weight flavors that are more muscular than they usually are while delivering excellent length on the backward finish. This is also more structured than it usually is, indeed it's borderline chewy, and is going to require extended keeping if you wish to see it at its peak.