1983 DRC Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

This is a sensational wine with a rich yet youthful fragrance, long, deep flavor, and plenty of body. The 1983 vintage for Domaine de la Romanee-Conti was a very tough year. First there was hail, then the advent of rot in August thanks to the tropical heat and humidity. When the harvest occurred, the domaine instructed its pickers to pick the grapes, not the grape bunches, by hand and to discard all of the rotten grapes. The results are splendidly concentrated, rich wines, but wines that are extremely expensive and need at least a decade of cellaring.

Moderate bricking with a small ruby core. An exceptionally floral nose, indeed even more than usual with more freshness than the typical '83 displays today plus hints of spice, earth and the initial hints of sous bois that continue onto the delicious and complex flavors that offer impressive concentration on the slightly astringent finish. While not all of the DRC '83s display the effects of the hail and late season rains that encouraged rot (the '83 Grands Echézeaux for example is a seriously impressive wine though the La Tâche is a bit stewed), these effects on the RC are more a question of texture than taste. In sum, in keeping with the quality of the vintage, neither better nor worse.