2016 Romanee St Vivant
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Tasting notes
There is just enough reduction on what appears to be ripe and spicy dark berry fruit to blur the underlying nuances and even with air, the nose never did become expressive. There is a lovely<br /> sense of vibrancy to the medium weight flavors that are supported by firm, even robust, tannins on the long if still decidedly austere finale. While there are things to like here, the 2016 RSV probably will not go down as one of Alain Meunier’s best.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru has a beautifully defined bouquet. The fruit is darker than its peers: blackberry, boysenberry, hints of blueberry and crushed violet petals. This is quintessential Romanée-Saint-Vivant. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin and perfectly judged acidity. This is endowed with disarming structure and poise, fanning out beautifully towards the finish. A fabulous wine but it deserves a decade in the cellar. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. (DIAM 10 closure)
(the crop level here was normal): Good medium red-ruby. Slightly wild scents of black cherry and minerals. Dense, suave and thick with black raspberry, black cherry, mineral, earth and spice flavors. This wine has the almost chocolatey richness of a 2015 but with noteworthy inner-mouth perfume and saline energy. Substantial spreading tannins are keeping the wine's finishing flavors under wraps today but this grand cru offers considerable potential.