1996 - Richebourg Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

The 1996 Richebourg Grand Cru is drinking beautifully and might actually surpass La Tâche in this vintage; certainly, I have yet to drink a 1996 La Tâche as good as this particular bottle of Richebourg. Wafting from the glass with an inviting bouquet of plummy fruit mingled with wilted rose petals, peonies, exotic spices, orange rind and forest floor, it's full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with none of the vintage's tendency toward asperity in evidence, exhibiting melting tannins and a seamless, velvety profile. This is really beginning to show well today.

The 1996 Richebourg Grand Cru is a step above the previous vintage. It has a typical nose for the vintage, black instead of red fruit, a touch sullen at first, yet it brightens in the glass and delivers subtle ferrous, orange peel and mulch-like scents. The palate is medium-bodied with more structure and grunt than the '95, not a Richebourg with grace, yet sapid and with more persistency. This is thoroughly enjoyable, even if I don't think it will improve further after 28 years. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.