2016 Romanee-St-Vivant
By Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
2016 Romanee-St-Vivant from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Burgundy, France
A beacon within the Burgundy region, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC) continues to set benchmarks with its Grand Cru offerings. The 2016 Romanee-St-Vivant from this iconic producer encapsulates the singular brilliance of a challenging, yet rewarding vintage defined by resilience and reward.
Precise Pedigree in Precision Winemaking
While the tribulations of frost and mildew in 2016 confined yields and necessitated meticulous selection, this harmonious dance between nature and nurture has culminated in wines of unrestrained character and concentration. Even within such narrow margins, the precise vinification of the 2016 Romanee-St-Vivant delineated the quintessence of its terroir.
Vintage Character - Understated Elegance
The 2016 offering beguiles with a syntonic blend of fragility and firmness that’s quintessentially Romanée-St-Vivant. A bouquet of red cherry, wild strawberry and hints of violet ascends gracefully, further complexified by an earthy undertow synonymous with the region's linchpin: its hallowed terroir. On the palate, layer upon layer unfolds revealing blackcurrant, spices, and a touch of oak - the latter never overshadowing but masterfully integrating.
The wine exhibits a parcimonious acidity; invigorating yet carefully balanced with silky tannins that whisper of a wine built for longevity. There's an undeniable precision here, a linear narrative that tells of the year's climatic hurdles transcended through expert craft.
A Rarified Investment Opportunity
The confluence of rarity and eminence manifests most poignantly in Domaine de la Romanee-Conti’s creations. As such, the 2016 Romanee-St-Vivant stands as one of the most esteemed investments for collectors and investors alike – a vibrant thread in Burgundy's tapestry woven from adversity. In these bottles lies not just excellence in enology but an artefact of 2016 — an annus mirabilis sculpted by human tenacity and nature's mutable canvas.
In summing up this remarkable vintage, the quiet sophistication and entrancing complexity of the 2016 Romanee-St-Vivant from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti is a testament to both its lineage and its legacy – a jewel that embodies the triumph over an unpromising season, transmuting challenge into sheer alchemy.
Market price (GBP)
£33,390.00
12x75cl
Highest score
95
POP score
2226
Scores and tasting notes
The 2016 Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru is super, bursting from the glass with a kaleidoscopic bouquet of potpourri, red berries, cassis, peony and rose petal. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and fine-boned, with tangy acids, superb concentration and an ample chassis of powdery structuring tannins, concluding with a long, fragrant finish. This is a Romanée-St-Vivant that exemplifies the intensity without the weight that distinguishes the Domaine's best wines, and it equals the fabulous 2015 rendition.
William Kelley - The Wine Advocate, 4 January 2019