Beschreibung:

Romanee St. Vivant 2003 Romanee St. Vivant 2003 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Cote de Nuits, Grand Cru Banded prior to inspection An August vintage. The plot is 5 hectares but only what was produced from 3.5 hectares has been bottled as the vineyard was being reconstituted. A tremendous, classy scent - a total step up and an immense leap for Romanee St.Vivant, even with regard to the change noted from 1995. Creamy, rosy taste. Redcurrants and smoke. Very grapey and ripe with a touch of vanillin at the end. At 6 years old from magnum, a really voluptuous, sweet roses nose. Comes bursting out of the glass at you. Briary roses and plums. Great tannin and freshness on the palate. So rich in glycerol and sweetness. Coats the mouth in fat and sugar - one feels a touch of alcohol at the end. Incredibly soft - melts in the mouth. What impact of black fruit on the finish. This is completely rich and fabulous. SS. Lot 6018 6 bts (owc) per lot: HKD 30000-42000 per lot: USD 4000-5500 This was a one-off vintage where there were no points of comparison for those tending the vineyards and making the wine. Temperature records were broken, decisions were taken without terms of reference, heads were scratched in contmeplation and tears were no doubt shed when it was realised that an average of some 16.6hl/hectare for the red Grands Crus were made. Everything about this vintage is 'legendary'. With ten days in August when the temperature went over 38 degrees Celsius(100degrees Fahrenheit), when it was inevitable that the normal 100 days between mid-flowering and the beginning of the harvest fell, in some instances for the young vines, to an amazing 80 days. Luckily, the night and the early mornings were cool so the foliage remained green throughout the harvest, which began with the Echezeaux on 25th August and lasted just eight short mornings. The must was so rich that a relatively short vatting of 15 days was effected and the co-owners, Aubert de Villaine and Henri-Frederic Roch, decided not to acidify in spite of the very low acidity readings. (his reminded me of the late, great Emile Peynaud who, when asked if the low-acidity Bordeaux 1982s would last, replied that the tannin and dry extract would replace the missing acidity.) Messrs. De Villaine and Roch did, however, decide to bottle the 2003s earlier tha usual, spreading the process between November 2004 and February 2005, neither fining or filtering. I sense the wisdom of this timing. When I tasted these wines in February 2006, Aubert de Villaine told me that the wines had increasingly shown their individual terroir and characteristics , afetr the initial impression that the vintage character , i.e. the very hot temperatures, dominated. Certainly there was no sense of heat, dry tannins nor of excessive alcohol in these wines, but there was fruit and freshness. It is almost academic to muse as to whether the Domaine's 2003s will be long keepers or not, given that the quantities are so small and that the demand will probably ensure that most are drunk over the next 4-6 years, but I have a feeling that these facinating wines will be better in middle rather than old age. SS. Quantity: 1