2012 - Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru Marey-Monge, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

The 2012 Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru is majestic. I don't know how else to describe it. Deep and layered, with tons of palate presence, the 2012 is spellbinding from the minute it is served. All the elements are in perfect balance. The 2012 is a pretty powerful RSV that very much shows the character of a year with tiny yields. I admire its stature. Readers lucky enough to own it should be thrilled. The 2012 can be enjoyed now, but I would prefer to give it another few years in bottle. I loved the 2012 on release and I love it today, even moreso. Unforgettable. Tasted at a private dinner.

The 2012 Romanée St Vivant, incidentally served before Richebourg rather than afterwards unlike previous years, was picked on September 28 and 29 at 24 hectoliters per hectare. There is a wondrous, ethereal purity to this 2012, a little more sumptuous than I recall it from barrel, with kirsch and freshly picked strawberries. As it opens, it gains more and more sensuality. The palate is rounded, almost curvaceous in the mouth, clearly more concentrated than the 2011 with a sense of authority and purpose, a bit of daring-do on the long finish. It leaves a slightly ferrous residue on the aftertaste, completing what is a marvelous and sensual Grand Cru. 1,148 cases produced.

Dense, concentrated and introvert. Silky start and then it closes up. Very firm and with a massive tannic charge under some well-disciplined fruit. Almost severe. You would certainly be crazy to open this before 2025 and should ideally wait much longer. Not high on charm for the moment. Great structure and magnificent potential. Just a bit of a throb on the end. Silky and gorgeous after time. Minerals and really opened out. (JR)