2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

Perceptibly more complex than La Tâche at this stage, which is not always the case. It already smells of truffles, of morels in cream sauce. Aubert de Villaine said rather wistfully, 'I would Romanée  Conti could be like this every year'. This wine positively dances on the palate – really lively and rich but very chewy with masses of acidity too. There’s a hit of that merest hint of green leaf that is evident in the Richbourg but in this wine there are just so many other elements too. It really is the headiest of cocktails. This should be a truly stunning wine, so obviously great even at this stage. (JR)

(est. 2,500-$2,900) Good deep red. Less expressive but still utterly sexy nose offers plum, raspberry, flowers, smoke and earth. Hints at its superb volume but this is quite closed and tightly knit today, and much less expressive and sweet than La Tache. But this superconcentrated wine seemed to gain sweetness with aeration, showing an increasingly fat, seamless texture without any loss of energy as it opened in the glass. Really saturates the palate on the aftertaste, where the tannins are thoroughly buffered by the wine's strong extract and superb depth.