2008 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru

The 2008 La Tache is another huge, powerful wine. Deep layers of perfumed fruit flow from this gorgeous wine. Mint, crushed flowers, orange peel and spices are just some of the notes that emerge from the wonderfully textured fruit. Darker hints of earthiness, tar and minerals frame the sweeping, eternal finish. This is simply dazzling. Anticipated maturity: 2028-2048. tasted the 2008s in bottle in late June 2011 after having gone through the 2010s from barrel. Aubert de Villaine describes 2008 as a difficult vintage with a lot of rain. Botrytis was an issue and the vineyards required constant attention. On September 14 the weather changed dramatically. A steady north wind dried out the grapes and concentrated sugars quickly, which also reduced the size of the berries. A further selection of fruit lowered yields to an even greater extent, resulting in overall production that is as much as 50% lower than normal for the Domaine. As for the wines, they are magnificent in my view, but will require considerable patience. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Good medium-deep red. Knockout high-pitched nose shows great lift to its aromas of raspberry, rose petal and Oriental spices. Silky-sweet, supple and highly concentrated but very tightly coiled today. Saturates the entire palate without exerting any impression of weight. Wonderfully suave, plush wine with superb energy on the very long, vibrating finish.

Bright pinky ruby. Light fresh cedary spice, sightly stemmy, and a restrained cherry fruit. There’s also something in the aroma that reminds me slightly of molasses – not sweet but a sort of bitter sweetness. Delicate leafy note even though it is fully ripe. Savoury, dry and extremely elegant on the palate. Very very fine-grained, paper-fine, mouthwateringly fresh tannin/acid balance. Less apparent density than the Richebourg and the Romanée-St-Vivant but amazingly persistent. (JH)