2006 Romanee-St-Vivant
By Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
2006 Romanee-St-Vivant from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Burgundy, France
Steeped in the rich terroir of Burgundy, the 2006 Romanee-St-Vivant from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti offers an intricate tapestry of gustatory delight, a distinctly unique vintage from one of the world's most prestigious vineyards.
2006: A Season of Surprise and Subtlety
The year 2006 was marked by a Burgundian season filled with climatic challenges, including a warm spring leading to early flowering, followed by an uneven summer. Yet, as harvest approached, an impeccable September bestowed upon us ripened fruit with balanced acidity – and from this bounty emerged the 2006 Romanee-St-Vivant with its remarkable poise.
A Distinguished Personality
The 2006 vintage from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti encapsulates the serendipity of nature's trials and triumphs. In the glass, this wine exudes a luminous ruby hue, promising a divinely aromatic bouquet. Upon first taste, one is captivated by a symphony of ripe red berries and black cherries punctuated by earthy undertones and an ethereal hint of violets. The palate is met with an exquisite complexity – an interplay between refined tannins and a lingering minerality which whispers the storied history of the domaine's famed calcareous soil.
An Investment Worthy of Connoisseurs
Embarking on an almost meditative savouring of this vintage reveals why serious investors prize these bottles as much for their liquid artistry as for their appreciative potential. The 2006 Romanee-St-Vivant emerges as one of the epoch's most graceful interpretations, and is, without question, a wise addition to any discerning portfolio. With each passing year, it not merely ages but evolves, hinting at even greater depths yet to be explored in its maturity.
In conclusion, this particular vintage stands as a testament to the tenacity and talent that courses through Domaine de la Romanee-Conti's vines. Through a season that demanded resilience, the 2006 Romanee-St-Vivant has emerged not only intact but inimitably enchanting – one of the shrewdest entities in fine wine investment today.
Market price (CAD)
$52,430.00
12x75cl
Highest score
95
POP score
2100
Scores and tasting notes
The Domaine de La Romanee-Conti's 2006 Romanee-St.-Vivant charts its own mysterious path, dissimilar to that of their Grands-Echezeaux, as well as reflecting the strides in quality that have manifestly been achieved in recent years in this site, more than at any other at this domaine. Iris, buddleia, and musky narcissus-like floral perfume; ripe purple plum and blackberry; sassafras and licorice; along with smoked meat and a hoisin-like amalgam of spices and soy all waft alluringly from the glass. The tannins here are ultra-refined and there is a vintage-typical sense of levity, despite all of the dark intrigue of enveloping black fruits, forest floor, fungal, and carnal flavors that persist on the palate. Here is an uncanny alliance of the sensual and thought-provoking such as only great red Burgundy among the world's red wines can engender, and if this wine doesn't stimulate in you cravings and wonder at once, the fault is doubtless in yourself and not the glass. It seems to marry the brightness and finesse of the 2002 with the texturally richness of the (unexpectedly fine) 2000, two standouts in recent tasting of Romanee-St.-Vivant that I was privileged to attend. But there is much more depth here, and I expect that this wine's beauty will be worth pondering and savoring for at least two decades. The Domaine de La Romanee-Conti harvested from the 20th-25th of September (commencing with Richebourg) and subjected the crop to rigorous sorting. Understandably, the viticultural meticulousness at this estate as well as its team of some 60 highly-skilled and –motivated pickers paid dividends in the context of a challenging vintage. Director Aubert de Villaine and cellarmaster Bernard Noblet vinified their 2006s with a lesser share of stems and whole clusters, and exposed them to new wood for a shorter period (thereafter racking into older barrels) than the corresponding 2005s. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2009