2019 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Richebourg Grand Cru is a magical wine, even at this early stage, and it has amply realized all the potential it showed in barrel. Soaring from the glass with aromas of sweet wild berries, blood orange, Indian spices and rose petals, it's full-bodied, ample and velvety, with a sumptuous, enveloping core of vibrant fruit and a seamless, multidimensional profile. Revealing immense concentration, its chassis of perfectly ripe, refined tannins only makes itself felt on the finish, but its charm is deceptive, because this Richebourg is holding plenty in reserve for the future. This was a particularly memorable tasting at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Revisiting the bottled 2019s was thrilling, as these are some of the most sensual, dramatic young wines I've ever tasted at this address; and the young 2020s, tasted from barrel (with the exception of several cuvées that had been recently racked), show immense potential too. A few small evolutions have been made in the cellars in the last few years, with Tonnellerie La Grange increasingly in evidence alongside historically dominant François Frères on the red side of the ledger, and barrels from Séguin Morey, Damy and Taransaud to be found in the new room devoted to the domaine's white wines. Bottling is also a touch earlier than in the past. (WK)