Domaine de la Romanée Conti, La Tache Grand Cru 2012

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 La Tâche was picked September 25 and 27 at 21 hectoliters per hectare. It is blessed with one of those aromatic profiles that stops you in your tracks, in some ways stops time itself. There is an intensity and drive here, a mixture of red and black fruit, autumn leaves and wet limestone and later, roof tiles on a hot July afternoon. The palate is medium-bodied and nigh perfectly balanced. The tannins are filigree, the fruit extremely pure with an intense mineralité on the finish. There is an effortless quality about this La Tâche and yet is just clams up on the finish, does not quite deliver that knockout blow that so many other vintages have given. Perhaps it is saving it for later? Readers should note that there is just 1,113 cases produced rather than the usual 1,870.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 La Tache Grand Cru was picked on September 25 and 27, thus avoiding the downpours in September 26. It comes across as strict and linear out of barrel, a serious La Tache that means business. There is an otherworldly degree of mineralite suffused into every atom, but it has an introverted nature at the moment. The palate is ethereal – textbook La Tache. It is endowed with awe-inspiring tension and intensity, extremely focused, broody at first but then unleashing a wave of extremely pure, almost sorbet-fresh red berries on the effervescent finish. Aubert de Villaine was traveling the Far East when I visited the domaine’s relocated offices that lie in the shadow of the church in the main square in Vosne. And so cellar-master Bernard Noblet, distinctive with his hulking frame, escorted me through barrel samples of their 2012. Not everything was available for me to taste. Their Montrachet was damaged by hail and consequently there is less than half the usual crop, and Bernard was adamant that the Corton was not in representative condition. Incidentally, there is no Cuvee Duvault-Blochet in 2012, as one would expect in such a small volume crop. The domaine gave me a summary of this infamous growing season that essentially repeated the remarks of other growers, but expressed in Aubert’s poetic, allegorical fashion, my favorite sentence: “The vigneron’s intervention is quiet and rare, as that of the crew of a sailboat navigating calm weather.” Of course, the domaine, especially vineyard manager Nicolas Jacob, was not spared the choppy waters of the tumultuous season that threatened to capsize many of the region’s finest vignerons. The estate’s biodynamic principles meant that applying the preparations and treatments proved challenging when one day out of every three was rainy. The harvest commenced on September 21 in Corton and finished nine days later in Echezeaux, the secateurs put back into their sheaths when the heavens opened on September 25 and 26. Yields are recorded at 20 hectoliters per hectare, which is approximately 25% less than usual. That said, upon entering the reception area I was confronted with what appeared to be the entire allocation for the United States shrink-wrapped on towering pallets. You have to remember that this is for one of the largest countries in the world. These barrel samples are rather academic. These wines are not available for another year and readers will find bottled reviews, which I have written every February since 1998, more relevant since the wines will be finished and ready for sale. However, I decided to publish these notes so that they can be juxtaposed against their peers and my remarks in 12 months time. One point that I found interesting was the more prudent use of stems, logical when you consider that the lack of sunshine in the early part of the season would mean not all stems would have been fully lignified. Therefore, the pickers had to patiently wait until the berries were fully ripe. You do not need me to tell you that their 2012s are variations upon “spellbinding” and will doubtless cost a pretty penny. Truth is, there are cheaper alternatives out there, many of which I have praised in my recent report. There is only one thing – they are not Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661 and through Corney & Barrow (UK).

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A wine of almost raw, animal power, the 2012 La Tâche possesses stunning depth and intensity. Savory, floral and red citrus notes are pushed forward in an unusually virile, imposing La Tâche. Readers will have to be patient here, which will not surprise anyone familiar with the vintage. Still, I am taken aback by the wine’s embryonic youthfulness.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

There isn't much to say about the 2012 La Tâche because it is nearly as complete as a young wine can possibly be. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. In 2012 it is the wine's extraordinary textural finesse and huge towering structure that stand out. The classic La Tâche floral and savory notes are all amped up by the richness and overall intensity of the year.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2012 La Tâche inhabits a rarified air of pure cool and sophistication. Sensual, aromatic and silky, the 2012 is seamless and impeccable in its balance from the very first taste. Here the flavors are intense and penetrating, with stunning depth and exceptional overall balance.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Bright, dark red. Spellbinding perfume combines red berries, cherry, Oriental spices, rose petal, licorice, pepper and minerals. Perfectly balanced from the outset, showing outstanding clarity and lift, not to mention superb sappy depth, to its multifaceted red fruit, mineral, spice and floral flavors. The combination of sweetness and grip is extraordinary, as is the wine's expanding, mounting aftertaste. Will this beauty ever go into a truly sullen stage? Probably.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Bright dark red. Musky strawberry, raspberry, wild spices and minerals on the pure but rather subdued nose; less showy today than the RSV or Richebourg. The palate offers outstanding imploded intensity and lift to the almost liqueur-like red berry and spice flavors. Wonderfully full without being the least bit heavy. The sugar/acid balance here is truly exhilarating. Great expanding aftertaste shows a captivating candied quality and terrific lift and cut.