Pinot Noir

wines

There are three barrels of the 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from 75-year old vines. It has a fragrant bouquet that offers a smorgasbord of red berry fruits and minerals to the point where the new wood in imperceptible. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins and very well judged acidity. The finish is more linear that other vintages that I have tried from barrel, nicely focused with a touch of spice popping up on the extraordinary long aftertaste.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP(these vines are 75 years old, according to Cathiard): Bright, dark red. Subtle aromas of crushed cherry, minerals and smoke verge on liqueur-like. Then creamy-sweet and superrich in the mouth, delivering outstanding plushness and a seamless texture. This very large-scaled wine boasts terrific volume. Finishes with substantial but firm tannins and lingering notes of sweet raspberry and spicy oak. I wanted a bit more complexity and grip for an even higher score: am I underrating this grand cru today?Vinous Media | 93+ VMA strikingly spicy nose offers up notes composed of essence of red pinot fruit, black currant, violets and sandalwood. In much the same fashion as the En Orveaux this possesses an ultra-refined mouth feel as the shaping tannins are quite fine-grained that could not be more different compared to that of the Malconsorts yet this is perhaps even longer. Even at such a young state of development this is a remarkably harmonious wine of understated grace. Wow.Burghound | 93-96 BH

There isn’t much of this grand cru to go around, alas, as the Cathiard parcel is a mere 0.17ha. But what a wine it is: plush yet refined, with scented oak, plenty of depth and spice, subtle reduction and layered bramble and black cherry fruit. Fresh and alluring.Decanter | 96 DECOne of the wines of the vintage, the 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a stunning bouquet of plums, raspberries, dark chocolate, Asian spice, rose petals and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, enveloping and multidimensional, with stunning concentration and depth at the core, its ample chassis of fine, satiny tannins entirely cloaked in succulent fruit, its finish long and delineated. This is a stunning wine that entirely transcends the limitation of the year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, two new barrels out of three in total, has a very refined, supremely focused bouquet of perfumed scents of black cherries, strawberry pastilles and subtle orange blossom aromas. The medium-bodied palate is extremely precise and detailed, with very fine tannin and transparent mineralité toward the finish (as if you can feel the "bones" of this R.S.V.). Sensual and intellectual to boot.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMTwo new barrels out of three. Rich dense black core with an intense purple rim. The nose suggests a wealth of fruit to come but not ready to deliver yet., The front of the mouth fills up very nicely but the back delivers even more. Proper tension at the finish, this time more black fruit than red. At the moment the wine is more about intensity than elegance but this will certainly follow. Tasted: November 2018.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMAn exuberantly fresh if restrained nose offers up a panoply of spice elements to the primarily red berry fruit aromas that display additional breadth with hints of orange pekoe tea, lavender and a whisper of sandalwood. The lacy yet concentrated middle weight flavors possess a highly refined mouthfeel and first-rate complexity on the balanced and wonderfully persistent if youthfully austere finish. Like the Malconsorts, this is gorgeous but it is also very clearly built for long-term cellaring.Burghound | 93-96 BH