Romanee Conti Domaine de la Romanee Conti 2017 (750ML)

98 Points, William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Wafting from the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of dark wild berries, cassis, wilted rose petals, blood orange, exotic spices, licorice and coniferous forest floor, the 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is full-bodied, satiny textured and multidimensional. It's just as powerful as this year's La Tâche but even more elegantly framed by filigree structure, concluding with an intensely sapid and penetratingly fragrant finish. Pristinely balanced, this young Romanée-Conti possesses huge reserves for the long haul despite its deceptively supple youthful appeal, and it will reward extended bottle age." 01/20

96 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous: "The 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru was picked on September 8 at 35hl/ha and bottled April 25–26 . It has a quintessential Romanée-Conti bouquet of pure, seductive red fruit (morello cherry, cranberry, raspberry), extremely well defined and focused, plus subtle sea spray/seaweed aromas; with continued aeration, I noticed just a faint touch of curry leaf in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and very fine acidity. A discreet crescendo in intensity leads to a harmonious, lightly spiced and slightly more mineral-driven finish than the La Tâche. Yet I cannot help feeling that the La Tâche has a little more complexity than the Romanée-Conti, and perhaps a little more potential. Let’s see. 627 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London." 01/20

96 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is dense, ample and also ethereal, as only it can be. Once again, Romanée-Conti elicits thoughts of art forms like cubist paintings or jazz, where themes are implied but never expressly stated. Above all else Romanée-Conti is a Burgundy that engages all the senses. You want answers, but all you get back is more questions. The 2017 is powerful and quite closed initially, yet with some aeration hints of black cherry, lavender and exotic spice start to appear. A closing rush of baritone inflections give it a real sense of gravitas. It’s a shame very few people will ever be able to taste it. Harvest took place on the morning of September 8." 07/20

97 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound: "Once again there is evident restraint to the almost taciturn but still kaleidoscopically broad-ranging nose of wonderfully pure and fresh and spicy aromas that include plenty of floral influences on the red currant, cherry, sandalwood and rose petal. The silky and equally pure middle weight flavors possess excellent punch and a similar level of minerality on the focused, powerful, linear and impressively persistent finish that slowly fans out as it sits on the palate. In contrast to the flash of the La Tâche, this is Zen-like in its sense of harmony and focus. Like many of the DRC '17s, this should be approachable somewhat earlier than normal yet still be capable of reward 20+ years of cellaring." 01/20 Issue #77

98 Points, Tim Atkin MW, Decanter: "This has gained in weight and intensity since I tasted it from barrel in October 2018, but it’s still innately graceful: a string quartet rather than a full orchestra perhaps. On the nose, aromas of incense, fresh tobacco and forest floor are complemented by sweet spices and stylish new oak. The palate is layered, refined and savoury, gaining in intensity on the tongue and finishing clean, bright and refreshing with the promise of greater things to come. Stunning." 01/20

97-99 Points, Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy: "The colour offers a gorgeous imperial purple of middling depth. The wine is sublime in the attack, deep roses here as well as the most sumptuous fruit, irrelevant between red and black, most astonishing finish except that we know it. All about the palate which is as regal as ever, just a question of scale. From a Taransaud barrel the colour was perhaps not so deep, the nose a little more expressive, with the same magical silky texture in the mouth again, a bit of whole bunch." 11/18