Domaine de la Romanée Conti, La Tache Grand Cru 2013

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2013 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked from the afternoon of October 7 and over the next two days at 18 hectoliters per hectare. It has a heavenly nose with exquisite mineral-rich red cherry, wild strawberry, blood orange and subtle woodland, damp autumn leaf and moss aromas that are extraordinarily complex. It seems to gain vigor and intensity with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, a slightly suppler La Tâche compared to recent years, a wine with an athleticism. There is nothing wasted or superfluous here, a honed La Tâche that is all about tensile structure matched by perfect acidity and an incredibly complex, kaleidoscopic finish that seems so mercurial in the glass, initially offering red fruit then changing its mind and revealing darker and more tertiary notes. In a word: awesome. Production is 1,023 cases. Tasted February 2016.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Aubert de Villaine remarked that there is "one more dimension" to the 2013 La Tâche Grand Cru and that he would be in no hurry to bottle it. The barrel sample makes an immediate impression on the nose. It is immeasurably complex with cranberry and pomegranate scents at first, autumn woodland accompanied by candied orange peel and limestone scents. The palate is very complex and beautifully balanced. Perfect acidity, surfeit with tension, this La Tâche gradually crescendos to a pixelated finish that has enormous persistence in the mouth. Stunning.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2013 La Tâche Grand Cru is dazzling. Bright and nuanced, the 2013 sizzles with energy right out of the gate. The 2013 is just starting to open. Ideally, a few more years in the cellar would be helpful, but the 2013 is so inviting at this stage. This late-ripening year produced a La Tâche that bristles with tension.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Pure silk on the palate, the 2013 La Tâche is a wine of texture above all else. Hints of rose petal, spice, mint and sweet red stone fruits are laced together in a fabric of nearly indescribable tactile finesse. Bright saline notes support an eternal finish laced with super-expressive floral and spice overtones. In 2013, La Tâche has it all. Along with the Romanée St.-Vivant, La Tâche is one of the clear stars in this range.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Bright, dark red. Precise but discreet aromas of raspberry, noble herbs, smoky minerality and spices. Hugely rich and spherical in the mouth but also shows outstanding lift and saline soil complexity to the extremely concentrated flavors of raspberry, strawberry and flowers. Delivers a compelling combination of sweet and savory elements and finishes with noble, seamless tannins and great energy and spicy lift. An obvious knockout but much more reticent today than the Richebourg.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Medium red. Raspberry, Oriental spices, flowers and vanillin oak on the nose. Ripe and plush in the mouth, with the wine's spicy and floral components dominating its fruit in the early going. At once thick and taut, this compellingly juicy grand cru combines great class and considerable power. Most impressive today on the slowly building, horizontal aftertaste, which leaves the mouth perfumed.