Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 2014

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 2014, France

(On very limited release from Corney & Barrow: £2,475 / case of 3 bottles in bond, £825 / case of 1 bottle in bond, £1,660 / case of 1 magnum in bond) 

As the frenzied excitement of the Burgundy 2015 en primeur campaign in the UK finally draws to a close, it is time once again for the region’s most famous producer, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), to stroll in and take centre stage.

Always a vintage behind, DRC is currently showing its bottled 2014 wines. There are just seven of them – Corton, Échézeaux, Grands-Échézeaux, Romanée-St-Vivant, Richebourg, La Tâche and Romanée-Conti – and they are rightfully some of the most sought-after wines in the world.

For anyone with the budget and inclination to buy, the good news is that there is double the quantity in 2014 compared with the tiny vintage of 2013. In terms of style, the estate’s co-owner, Aubert de Villaine, compares 2014 to 1991, 2001, or 2007, describing it as a ‘classic’ vintage with purity, freshness and minerality.

For me, it is a vintage in which the top wines of the estate really show their breeding. La Tâche is particularly memorable. Reticent at first with fine, elegant aromas, it quickly unfurls and begins to delight with its myriad scents and flavours. It is herbal and gently exotic with great purity and style. The fruit is dark, the tannins are fine-grained and it is beautifully, ethereally long. Drink from 2025.

(9-9.5/10, Susie, Feb 2017)