Romanée Conti, Domaine de la Romanée Conti 2022

The cooler and restrained yet beautifully perfumed nose is comprised by aromas of exotic tea, incense, cinnamon, soy, hoisin and wonderfully floral-inflected notes that only add to the appeal. The velvety and utterly delicious medium weight flavors possess a mid-palate texture that is akin to rolling a small pebble around the mouth before culminating in a strikingly well-balanced finale that is breathtakingly long. This is also exceptionally classy and refined, indeed it possesses the most finesse of any wine in the range yet it's finesse is coupled with focused power. This spherical effort is Zen-like in its sense of presence and young wine just doesn't get any better in my experience. Where the '22 RC will ultimately rank in the pantheon of great vintages for this wine, it is impossible to know but it would be fair to say that it has an excellent chance to eventually find its place among the all-time greats. (Drink starting 2042)

No deeper in colour, a pure and even purple. The nose is less immediate than La Tâche but with an exceptional feeling of depth. No longer rose petals but peonies in full bloom on top of the haunting depth of more than velvet dark red berries. Dancing across the palate in a stately way rather than tip toing. The finish is every bit as endless as La Tâche but with a much grander volume of fruit. This will need much more time and will deliver a stellar Romanée-Conti when it eventually reaches its apogee. I am going to do what I have only done once before – and score the wine with a split range of 99-100. Drink from 2040-2060. Tasted May 2025.

The 2022 Romanée-Conti is an extraordinarily lovely wine, boasting profuse red and black fruit, spice and floral notes. This wine was one of the revelations of the 2022 en primeur tastings. Today it seems less open and approachable than La Tâche at this stage, and shows a bit more influence from the cask. This wine is still sublime and doubtless will reopen to seduce with its charms, but at this point the magnificence of the 2022 La Tâche surpasses it. 8,332 bottles produced in 2022. (Drink between 2035-2100)

The 2022 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is pure and understated, unfurling in the glass with notes of red plum preserve, rose petals, incense and a discreet framing of new oak. Full-bodied, suave and ample, it's soft and supple, with a sweet core of fruit, melting tannins and a polished, seamless profile, concluding with a sapid finish. It was picked on 1 September and bottled on 8 January 2024.