Romanée Conti, Domaine de la Romanée Conti 2005

An exceptionally floral yet restrained nose with aromas of both rose and violets that combine with a panoply of spice notes yet the overall impression is classic young RC as the nose is both cool and reserved yet aristocratic. The sweet, intense, focused, detailed and vibrant flavors offer superb drive and punch though there is not the sheer scale of the LT yet they're finer and somehow even purer, indeed absolutely crystalline though I kept asking myself how this was possible as the purity of the La Tâche is itself mind blowing. The descriptor of 'power without weight' came to mind again and again as the flavors slide down the throat with no sense of heaviness yet the impact and precision of the presently somewhat austere finish is quite simply hard to believe. In a word, this is mind bending and in a visceral sense, this is a monumental wine that of real emotional impact. Genius in a glass.