2018 - Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, Sylvain Cathiard

As usual, there are three barrels of Cathiard's 2018 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, a stunning young wine that soars from the glass in a blaze of cassis, violets, orange rind, exotic spices, grilled meats and ripe plums. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and textural, with lively acids, prodigious concentration, powdery structuring tannins and a long, penetrating finish.

There are three barrels of the 2018 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru this year, two of them new and the third four years old. This was displaying some reduction at the time of my visit, although underneath there is intense black and red fruit plus a subtle marine influence of oyster shell and seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent red cherries and raspberry laced with blood orange. It feels very tight, a little muscular in style, a Grand Cru that is built for the long term. But will it surpass the spellbinding Malconsorts?