DRC Reds, sorted by rating
| 1949 | La Tache | A brooding wine from one of the greatest vintages in Burgundy.Great intensity and depth of flavor, still youthful, leathery with an amazingly long finish. Just a tad short compared to the best bottles I've had of the 1949 La Tache from a dozen or so tastings over the last twenty years. Quite a remarkable evolution of flavors and bouquet as the wine sat in the glass. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1949 | Romanee St. Vivant | Great elegance. Exquisite. An enormous perfume of ripe cherries and strawberries, spicy sweet flavors, velvety texture, a great finish. It is true to RSV's reputed feminine character. Quite incredible considering that this bottle (my last bottle) had a very low fill. A tribute to the Domaine and to 1949. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1962 | Romanee Conti | Exotic nose of coffee beans and oriental spices. Totally rounded out with an opulent amount of sweet fruit inside a silky veneer. Very opulent for Romanee Conti -- and for a 1962 at that. "Are there any flaws in this wine?" I asked The answer: "none". A complete surprise | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1971 | Romanee Conti | Great complexity in the bouquet, almost a candy like sweetness on the taste, velvety, amazingly nuanced, complex and elegant, very long sweet finish. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1978 | La Tache | Remarkably youthful nose and structure, quite leathery and sweet, developed beautifully in the glass with a long finish. Extraordinary. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1978 | Romanee Conti | Ethereal wine and a flawless DRC with everything in it that one can ask for -- it is exotically perfumed, amazingly well balanced, complex, multi-layered, silky, elegant with a long finish. A perfection. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1990 | La Tache | A huge, intense wine. Considering the immense power and the richness of the fruit, which is kept remarkably in balance by firm and refreshing acidity, this wine can be called "larger than life". One of the great La Tache of all-time | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1990 | Romanee Conti | An amazing feat for this wine to retain that telltale elegance of Romanee Conti in the face of the massive volume of fruit typical of the 1990s. Pure velvet. An extraordinarily long finish. An extraordinary example of what balance is all about, and what the Domaine can achieve. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1999 | La Tache | Seamless, structurally perfect with all components very vibrant and in balance, not the power of the 1990 La Tache but flawless, with an amazingly long length. The 1990 is a more opulent wine, the 1999, typical of the vintage, is more floral and elegant and quite seductive | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1999 | Romanee Conti | Elegance and seamlessness which are the hallmark of this wine are even more pronounced in this elegant, almost delicate, vintage. It was very closed up when first poured in the glass but developed slowly and remarkably, always a great sign. As it changed in the glass it was impressive to taste all the great nuances that began to emerge and the incredible long length it developed. Some people argued that 1999 is "better" than 1990, whatever that means. I don't think so. We have two totally different styles of wine reflecting two very different vintage conditions : the 1990 is more opulent in a kind of "larger than life" mode, the 1999 is more elegant and seductive, perhaps more classical. But they are both great wines. | 98-100 | ***** |
| 1945 | Romanee Conti | Gamy -- smoky, almost syrah like nose, overall a tight structure with very jammy fruit flavors. I have had this wine three times before. This one seems slightly on the dry side. But it is still packed with fruit and still exceptionally well balanced | 96-98 | **** |
| 1959 | La Tache | Complex nose of oriental spices and truffles, almost a candy like sweetness, beautifully structured, absolutely lovely. | 96-98 | **** |
| 1959 | Richebourg | Round and expansive, again candy like sweetness, a more silky and softer style wine than the 59 La Tache. | 96-98 | **** |
| 1962 | La Tache | Great balance of fruit and acidity -- a trademark 1962. Chewy, leathery, almost a chocolaty taste with excellent finesse. A bit drier than the other bottles of this wine I've had in the past but still quite extraordinary . | 96-98 | **** |
| 1971 | La Tache | Two slightly -- but only slightly--different bottles. One very youthful, leathery, slightly hot. The other with incredibly intense perfume of spices, silky and elegant. Extraordinary wine | 96-98 | **** |
| 1993 | Romanee Conti | Typical DRC, pure pinot nose and pure fruit, great delicacy of flavors, almost ethereal and complex wine. | 96-98 | **** |
| 1999 | Grands Echezeaux | Sweet cherries and chocolate on the nose, dark, a very thick wine. Having this wine is literally like chewing on a ripe luscious fruit. Quite an incredible feat ! | 96-98 | **** |
| 1947 | La Tache | Intense perfume in the nose -- powerful, exotic and spicy. Lush fruit taste, slightly short in the finish which makes it a lesser wine than the 1949 | 94-96 | *** |
| 1959 | Grands Echezeaux | Coffee beans -coca -exotic fruits in the nose, excellent richness and sweetness of the fruit, seemed slightly short initially but developed well, a beautiful wine | 94-96 | *** |
| 1964 | Richebourg | Fabulously rich and round, lovely pinot sweetness. It shows a typical DRC Richebourg character. Better than the 64 La Tache at this tasting. | 94-96 | *** |
| 1966 | La Tache | Two very different bottles. The better bottle was showing complexity, elegance and length -- sinewy wine packed with fruit. Because of strong acidity it requires long aging. | 94-96 | *** |
| 1971 | Richebourg | Amber along the edges, exotic nose of coca, spices and coffee beans, elegant for a Richebourg. Developed a remarkable sweetness of fruit as it slowly came around in the glass | 94-96 | *** |
| 1971 | Grands Echezeaux | Spices in the nose, great elegance and finesse, sweetness of the fruit is quite astonishing | 94-96 | *** |
| 1978 | Richebourg | Gamy nose, very leathery and tough texture with an enormous amount of fruit. Stylistically quite different from the 1971 Richebourg but equally great | 94-96 | *** |
| 1978 | Romanee St. Vivant | Exquisitely perfumed, excellent length, complete. The elegance in the wine is the hallmark of a great Romanee St. Vivant. | 94-96 | *** |
| 1978 | Grands Echezeaux | Floral -complex-spicy nose, a tight structure, very concentrated, a long lingering finish, a perfect example of a great DRC Grands Echezeaux | 94-96 | *** |
| 1988 | Romanee Conti | Quite closedl initially but opened up gradually in the glass, superb finesse with copious amounts of fruit hidden underneath the tannic structure. Long-term wine | 94-96 | *** |
| 1990 | Grands Echezeaux | The intensity of the bouquet is quite incredible, great balance of fruit and acid, still very young, it will take time to show its true potential | 94-96 | *** |
| 1993 | La Tache | Purity of the fruit, superbly elegant and balanced, more depth and substance and more DRC character than the 91 La Tache | 94-96 | *** |
| 1996 | La Tache | Purity of the fruit in the nose, loads of tannins and acidity, powerful wine which will take time to evolve. | 94-96 | *** |
| 1999 | Romanee St. Vivant | True to its reputation, a very elegant but a leathery wine. Great charm, substance and balance. Overall a very impressive wine among the arsenal of the 1999 DRC | 94-96 | *** |
| 1964 | La Tache | Coffee beans-ripe-aged nose. Great elegance. Lots of flavors but the finish is short. Not the best example of a 1964 La Tache which can be quite extraordinary (I had given it 96-98 in the past) | 92-94 | ** |
| 1980 | La Tache | From an underrated vintage in burgundy, it is a tough and tannic wine hiding the ripe fruit underneath. It took sometime in the glass for the fruit to finally emerge. | 92-94 | ** |
| 1985 | Romanee Conti | Again a typically unyielding 1985 but still shows lots of finesse and sweetness. It clearly needs time to come around. I can wait. | 92-94 | ** |
| 1988 | La Tache | Intense nose of spices and black fruit, a leaner but muscular style wine that clearly needs time, quite elegant | 92-94 | ** |
| 1988 | Grands Echezeaux | Complex bouquet, great purity of the fruit, concentrated, great elegance, needs time | 92-94 | ** |
| 1990 | Richebourg | Big, opulent wine with ripe fuit and sweetness. Seductive. Very good balance but a tad short in the length | 92-94 | ** |
| 1990 | Romanee St. Vivant | Plums and spices in the nose, great richness of fruit wrapped underneath a velvety elegant exterior. Excellent wine | 92-94 | ** |
| 1991 | La Tache | Chocolate and earth on the nose and the palate, an unusual DRC (difficult to guess in a blind tasting) lovely flavors, very round and sweet, does not have much weight or heavy tannins, quite approachable | 92-94 | ** |
| 1993 | Grands Echezeaux | Spicy nose, remarkably elegant with leather undertones, very well-balanced, long term | 92-94 | ** |
| 1996 | Romanee St. Vivant | Lovely elegance, excellent balance, this wine will develop beautifully in time | 92-94 | ** |
| 1996 | Grands Echezeaux | Elegance and softness are quite predominant, seems to have a little high acid which could become a problem, but there is plenty of sweetness that goes along with it | 92-94 | ** |
| 1999 | Echezeaux | Hints of chocolate and nutmeg, well balnced with good acidity, lighter style | 92-94 | ** |
| 1999 | Richebourg | Very dark, very rich with huge ripe fruit flavors but rather monolithic and straight ahead | 92-94 | ** |
| 1943 | Romanee Conti | Color somewhat diluted, bouquet of rose petals and cherries, quite sweet, delicate wine with good tannins and acid | 90-92 | * |
| 1957 | La Tache | Loads of acidity which is softened out. Quite well balanced, lovely, flavorful, this wine has been drinking well for a number of years and will continue to do so for some years to come. | 90-92 | * |
| 1961 | Grands Echezeaux | Some browning in the color, still plenty of sweetness of the fruit but drying in the finish. This bottle had a rather low-level | 90-92 | * |
| 1972 | La Tache | Elegance and acidity are very evident but it also has nice sweet flavors. Well balanced. | 90-92 | * |
| 1972 | Grands Echezeaux | Gamy nose, high acid, which do not distract from the nice flavors and elegance in this wine | 90-92 | * |
| 1976 | Grands Echezeaux | Ripe-lush fruit taste, quite opulent, high alcohol | 90-92 | * |
| 1980 | Grands Echezeaux | Very floral nose, loads of fruit, long finish | 90-92 | * |
| 1985 | La Tache | A hulking wine which seems to have closed the shop (I could almost see the sign on this shop saying "gone fishin' " without giving any return date !). My notes say " will it ever develop"? | 90-92 | * |
| 1985 | Richebourg | Showing more lush fruit and sweetness than the other 1985s, though not at the same level of complexity as the 1985 Romanee Conti. | 90-92 | * |
| 1985 | Romanee St. Vivant | A typical lovely DRC perfume, a little more giving than some of the other 1985 DRC though still monolithic and tannic. A slow developer | 90-92 | * |
| 1990 | Echezaux | Very deep color, spicy nose, a bit leaner than the other DRC '90s and also a bit shorter. | 90-92 | * |
| 1991 | Grands Echezeaux | Earthy, chocolaty in the flavor, beautifully drinking, lovely wine. | 90-92 | * |
| 1995 | Grands Echezeaux | Ripe cherry nose and flavor, very leathery, nice elegance, a bit short | 90-92 | * |
| 1999 | Vosne Romanee 1er Cru | Lighter style, softer, with a clear DRC stamp (I.e. elegant and ethereal wines) on this appelation which is more often known for big powerful wines. Quite fruity however, with lovely acidity. | 90-92 | * |
| 1942 | La Tache | Exotic--gamy--cherry flavors, a bit heavy, tannic, developing acetic undertones as it stayed in the glass. Nice concentration of fruit but short | 87-90 | |
| 1969 | La Tache | Amber along the edges, nice flavors, but the acidity dominates to the extent that the wine is not balanced. A dry finish. Not a very successful year for DRC. | 87-90 | |
| 1976 | La Tache | Hot and alcoholic with some sweet flavors. Not the best example of the 1976 La Tache which can be quite exotic and delicious (I had given 92-94 previously) | 87-90 | |
| 1985 | Grands Echezeaux | Chunky and unyielding, it is not clear when it will come around | 87-90 | |
| 1986 | Grands Echezeaux | Earthy, tarry, gaminess in the nose, acidity is high but there is softness and elegence, better than its reputation | 87-90 | |
| 1989 | La Tache | Round and youthful, exhibits some sweetness but seems closed now, does not show much flavor. In time it could show better. | 87-90 | |
| 1989 | Grands Echezeaux | Very round and opulent, sweet, but not the length | 87-90 | |
| 1996 | Echezaux | Fresh cherry -- raspberry bouquet, still very youthful but perhaps the first that will be ready to drink among the slow deveioping 1996 DRC's | 87-90 | |
| 1997 | Grands Echezeaux | Strong DRC perfume, quite elegant, lighter style, will develop well | 87-90 | |
| 1998 | Grands Echezeaux | Black cherry--raspberry nose, very deep color, tannic/ acidic, needs time | 87-90 | |
| 1983 | Grands Echezeaux | Color of a much older wine, powerful attack on the palate, leathery, slightly tannic, an astringent finish | 83-87 | |
| 1967 | Grands Echezeaux | Lighter style, sweetness dominates over acid. simple, good, drinkable. The 1967 La Tache, in contrast, can be excellent | 80-83 |