Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Montrachet Grand Cru 1985

vinous88

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 1985 Montrachet comes across fully mature. Game, smoke, wild flowers, tobacco and dried orchard fruit all add to an impression of a wine that is now past peak.

robert_parker90

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

There is something restrained and monolithic about the DRC's 1985 Montrachet. Obviously made from extremely low yields given its thickness and richness, this full-bodied wine reveals a lack of complexity. Admittedly, this is being super-critical, but at $600 a bottle, shouldn't one be just a bit moved by the tasting experience? The wine is unquestionably outstanding, and it may be a long distance runner that needs more time to develop. As the 1985 white Burgundy vintage has matured, it is interesting to hear some producers say that the wines are "too clean" and "too healthy." Nevertheless, this young, light to medium straw-colored Montrachet appears to require another decade of aging before a more realistic assessment can be made on where this wine is going. It is still young, but I am not fully convinced that age will bring out all the complexity one would expect. (Over the holidays, a Niellon 1985 Batard-Montrachet was profound, and clearly a mid-90-point effort.) The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series I of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.