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More reserved than the Richebourg and Romanée-St-Vivant, the 2016 La Tâche Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with aromas of wild berries, licorice, rose petal, smoked duck and love, framed by a touch of cedary new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and velvety, with a deep, concentrated but tight-knit core, its firm chassis of fine-grained, structuring tannins cloaked in succulent fruit, underpinned by juicy acids. The finish is long and reverberative. This is a stunning La Tâche in the making, but it is also one of the more reticent wines in the range and will demand some bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2016 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked on September 24–25 at 31hL/ha (the highest of the five crus). It has an utterly sublime bouquet of blackberry, briar, crushed limestone, a dash of cracked black pepper and a little oregano. This is extremely complex and displays exquisite focus, to the extent that you could just sit and nose it all day. The palate is beautifully balanced, the spicy red fruit framed by filigreed tannin that belies its backbone. There is a gentle crescendo from start to finish, though being La Tâche it retains complete control. The precision and detail in the final third are deeply impressive. Less fruit-forward than the 2015, and lightly spiced, with an insistent grip. There is a captivating sense of completeness that will ensure longevity through three or four decades. 1,814 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.Vinous Media | 98 VM(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Red) As is often the case, the highly perfumed nose is the most floral-inflected of the range with its equally cool and restrained array of violet and rose petal scents that combine with an extraordinary group of spice elements on the essence of red currant aromas. The mouthfeel of the imposingly-scaled and powerful flavors is again robust yet refined with just as much minerality as the Richebourg adding even more lift to the almost painfully intense and extravagantly long finish that also just goes and goes. There is a hint of backend warmth but it’s not enough to materially detract from the overall sense of harmony though I underscore that the ’16 LT is one very firm effort that will require decades to full shed its tannic shell. With that said, this is genuinely brilliant. (Drink starting 2041).Burghound | 98 BHA touch paler ruby in colour, this has a broodingly seductive fragrance combining red berries, cedary spice and an undertone of stalky whole-bunch. You just want to keep on sniffing it, and diving in reveals an underlying berry sweetness which follows though to the plump, fleshy and rounded palate. It’s full of copious loganberry fruit, with a continuing splash of cedar and sandalwood-like oak in combination. The texture is sleek and supple, the tannins almost imperceptible and beautifully rounded - that is until they creep up on you gradually, in combination with the juicy acidity, lending satisfying structural finesse and length. Drinking Window 2030 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DEC

Broader-shouldered and ampler than the Romanée-St-Vivant, the 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a lavish bouquet of cassis, dark plums, candied peel, potpourri, Asian spices, peonies and smoked duck. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and expansive, with considerable depth and dimension at the core, and a gourmand, almost fleshy profile that marries beautifully with its cool, precise fruit tones and its velvety structuring tannins. This is a superb Richerbourg that to my palate surpasses the 2015 rendition.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru Red) An exuberantly fresh if restrained nose offers up a panoply of spice elements that add breadth to the mostly dark berry fruit and plum aromas that are laced with smoky hints of violet, rose petal, lavender and a whisper of sandalwood. The tautly muscular broad-shouldered flavors possess outstanding mid-palate density as well as evident minerality on the focused, impeccably well-balanced and hugely persistent finale that just goes and goes. The '16 Riche is a bit more refined than usual thanks to the beautifully fine-grained tannins and a wine that could aptly be described as a lovely combination of power and refinement that should also successfully age for a very long time. (Drink starting 2038).Burghound | 96 BHThe Richebourg has discreet yet powerfully brooding aromatics, mingling a hint of whole-bunch fruit with a spicy undertone of oak. It has energetic drive from exotic mulberry fruit, with an immediate fleshy, sweet dark berry impact on the tongue. Super-juicy loganberry flavours come in on the mid-palate, with the tannins tucked behind the fruit for a while. The texture is voluptuous and the structure stealthily emerges as the supple tannins and fresh acidity combine together in a tapering, slow-burning finish. Drinking Window 2030 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru was picked on September 23–24 at 24hL/ha. It is much more intellectual and, you might argue, more challenging on the nose. Initially it feels a little green, not through underripeness but due to a stemmy element that is not quite as well enmeshed with the fruit. This seems to dissipate with time, and after two or three minutes it evolves an extraordinarily complex mélange of red and black fruit (more the latter), briar, rose petals, crushed stone and just a touch of seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, not as silky as the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and a little more angular and masculine by comparison. This is one of the most saline Richebourgs that I have encountered from the domaine. Clearly a wine that is going to require a decade in bottle to really find its groove. Compelling, but not the most straightforward Richebourg in the pack. Then again, don’t we all like a puzzle? 868 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.Vinous Media | 95 VM