2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
While the 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru is one of the most approachable recent vintages of this great monopole, it's still really too soon to be opening bottles. However, these things happen, and it's certainly a striking wine, unwinding in the glass with detailed aromas of wild berries, plums, exotic spices, orange, rose petals, peony and coniferous forest floor. Full-bodied, satiny and seamless, its beautifully refined tannins and succulent acids are cloaked in an ample core of fruit. Like many of the best 2017s, its charm is deceptive, as there's a lot waiting in reserve here, and even a few years' patience will bear dividends.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru is another of the more expressive wines in the range. It opens with striking mid-palate pliancy and also possesses a level of inner sweetness the other wines don’t have, and yet there is plenty of the tannic clout that defines the Richebourg as well. Time in the glass allows all of those elements to emerge fully, especially the aromatics that are such a La Tâche signature. Creamy, ample and wonderfully expressive, 2017 is superb today. I would cellar the 2017 for at least a few years, even if it is incredibly alluring right now. Harvest took place on September 6 and 7.
The 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked on September 6 and 7 at 34hl/ha and bottled between March 25 and April 24. As Aubert de Villaine had noted earlier, this is a more introverted La Tâche that bided its time in the glass. The fruit is slightly darker than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, with the addition of a little blueberry and violet and background scents of moorland, though they needed 10–15 minutes in the glass before they revealed themselves. The medium-bodied palate delivers lithe tannins matched with a very fine line of acidity. This displays more body and grip than the Richebourg or Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and wondrous piquancy on the loamy finish. What it does not possess, unlike the previous two vintages, is a never-ending aftertaste. This La Tâche does its job but prefers not to hang around. Afford this four to five years. 2,082 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.
Pale ruby. Really quite intense on the nose. Glorious spread of ripe fruit and freshness. Very immediate. Such a peacock’s tail on the finish too! Rich yet far from sweet. Massive concentration. Resonates with violets and forest charm on the finish. Gorgeous. Such appeal! 2,082 cases (JR)
About the producer
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti or simply “DRC” is without doubt the most famous domaine in Burgundy and one of the most famous producers on earth. The Grand Cru vineyard from which it takes its name produces the world’s most expensive wine by a long margin.