x
  • Country ranking ?

    620
  • Producer ranking ?

    100
  • Decanting time

    45min
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Enjoy without food

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

1923 La Tâche: (Nicolas bottling). (“The 1923 vintage continues to amaze me as it doesn’t ever seem to change and thus it may live forever. I’m kidding in a sense but the wine has been like this since the day that I met it and the best way I can describe it is to say that it is not a young wine but neither is it an old wine. It’s truly an exceptionally good vintage for us.” Aubert de Villaine; Meadows: Many old Burgundians still talk about the 1923 vintage as one of the top two or three vintages of the century. It was one of the smallest harvests in the history of the Côte d’Or with a very cold and wet spring followed by a hot and dry summer. The crop was small but extremely clean and very ripe with incredible concentration and plenty of buffering sap. I have had only one other ’23 from the Domaine, the Romanée-Conti, which I had in May along side the 1921. It was spectacular and still youthful though I had the barest of preference for the ’21). Much like the ’23 Romanée-Conti tasted earlier this year, this is amazingly youthful with some bricking but still plenty of deep ruby in the middle. Cola, Asian spices, earth, anise, hoisin, clove, cinnamon stick and some secondary fruit notes that are extremely ripe and rich lead to big, powerful, fantastically deep flavors blessed with buckets of sap. There is the barest hint of acidity and still some firm tannins on the finish but the sheer elegance and impeccable balance make this an extraordinary wine. This is still on cruise control and while it will not improve from here, which is itself an amazing statement for an 80 year old wine, there is certainly no rush to drink up. In short, a pure and incontestably pristine example of greatness. 97/now

Allen Meadows

Close

The Story

Well-cared for vines, strictly controlled yields and as late as possible harvest produces an aromatic and opulent wine. Deeply coloured, La Tâche develops a palate of extraordinary aromas of dark fruits, truffle and spices.

Rich and concentrated, its bouquet releases infinite tones that melt in the mouth to form a lovely ensemble – always exceptional, even in the difficult vintages. Hence in 1950 and 1951, it was the only wine in the domaine that was bottled.

Like many other Burgundy properties, the parcel La Tâche was originally connected to a monastery. It was then owned by two different families, one of which was the Joly de Bévy, who were dispossessed during the Revolution.

Later owned by the Basire and then the Liger-Belair families, the remaining part of La Tâche was purchased by the emblematic Domaine de La Romanée-Conti in 1933, joining the other mythical crus of Grands-Échézeaux, Échézeaux and Richebourg. From this vintage, La Tâche, solely
owned by one single domaine, became a ‘Cru Monopole’.

It is of course rare, producing 20,000 bottles per year, and is highly sought after by wine connoisseurs around the world, particularly in Asia.

La Tâche remains more accessible in price than the iconic cru of the domaine, DRC, yet it is also regarded as an icon with legendary status.

Buying a bottle of La Tâche, even in a lesser vintage, not only provides an extraordinary pleasure when opening the wine, but, if not opened, will give a certain guarantee of a comfortable appreciation in the medium term.

 

Romanée-Conti lies on brown limestone soils 60 cm deep with a major clay component. Romanée-Saint-Vivant has similar but deeper (90 cm) soils. Higher up, La Romanée occupies a markedly sloping site (12%) and the soil texture is less clayey. La Tâche and La Grande Rue share brown limestone soils, rather shallow at the top end with deeper rendzinas lower down. The same is true for the Richebourg, depending on slope and aspect. The underlying rock is hard Premeaux limestone dating from the Jurassic (175 million years BC).

Lying between Flagey-Échezeaux (home of the ÉCHEZEAUX appellation) and Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée occupies a middle position in the Côte de Nuits. The vines grow at altitudes of 250 to 310 metres and face east or, in some cases, slightly south of east. Vosne-Romanée, the central jewel in the necklace of appellations which is the burgundian côte, is not content with holding a mere four aces but boasts a total of six Grands Crus, each one famous the world over. A thousand years ago, it was the Cluniac monks of Saint-Vivant de Vergy and the Cistercians of Cîteaux who first realised the value of these very special plots of land.

One of these vineyards takes its name from Prince Conti who lost his heart to it in 1760. Romanée-Conti is one of the wonders ofthe world and has always been a singly-held entity. Next door to it, Romanée-Saint-Vivant recalls the medieval monastery of the Hautes-Côtes which is currently undergoing restoration and which is linked to it by its own path. La Romanée, La Tâche and La Grande Rue are also singly-held entities, as is Richebourg, whose mere name is enough to fill a glass.

These Grands Crus frequently give good results from long laying-down. As a general rule, they shouldn't be drunk under about ten years of age but sometimes they will be aged up to 20 or 30 years. Each appellation has its own distinct personality depending on its year of production and on the stage it has reached in its development. These flamboyant red wines fully express the subtlety and complexity of the Burgundian Pinot Noir grape. Their colour is a dark ruby turning crimson with age. Their wide-ranging bouquet is divided among small red and black fruits, violet, spices and, with time, underbrush. On the palate, this wine is well-defined with a powerful body. It is delicate, sensual, frank and full.

In addition to their powerful structure and exceptional longevity, these great wines develop tertiary aromas of truffle, underbrush, leather and fur. It goes without saying that strong-flavoured meats will do them justice : furred or feathered game, braised, in sauce, or simply grilled. Wild-fowl (eg Peking duck) or a nice cut of roast veal will be gently enveloped by the close-packed but elegant tannins of these mighty Pinot Noir wines.

Serving temperatures : 15 to 16 °C.

 

Close

Wine Information

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is without question the most famous estate in Burgundy and arguably the greatest, producing some of the best wines in the world. It is probably one of the most traditional wineries in France. Wines are produced in small quantities while the demand is huge. The domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus, including the jewel in the crown, the 1.8 hectare monopole of Romanée Conti.
Romanée-Conti, a vineyard of four and a half acres,was originally the property of the Abbey of St. Vivant. In 1760 Prince Conti acquired it against the competition of a famous collector of jewellery, Madame de Pompadour – the king’s minister against the king’s mistress. He withdrew it from the market and reserved it for his own dazzling social events. It was he who created the myth surrounding Romanée-Conti.
The price of this tiny, treasured vineyard was 80.000 livres, which in those days was worth a small kingdom. Reclaimed as property of the nation during the Revolution, the vineyard passed through the hands of several proprietors to an ancestor of the present owner for 14.000 gold pounds in 1868.
In June 1940 began the journey of 16-year-old André Noblet from estate´s cellar caretaker to chief winemaker. The moment was not exactly favourable for the young man, as in July France was occupied by Germany. This single-minded and intelligent young man wanted to learn as quickly as he could all there was to know about the making of the estate´s wines, and Louis Clin did not spare his efforts, time or knowledge from this eager and gifted youth. As early as 1946 André vinified his first wines under Mr. Clin´s supervision. André Noblet finally took over the whole responsibility for the estate´s wines after the death of Louis Clin.
–We are the keeper of a certain philosophy of wine and, mainly, we are concerned by the perfection in details" assures Aubert de Villaine.
Aubert de Villaine became co-director of the domaine in 1974. His goal at the domaine is to bottle a wine that has had almost no manipulation, but is the result of perfectly balanced, healthy fruit. At the domaine everything is directed at producing great wines which are ideal for keeping. Biodynamics, used over the last ten years, has led to a change in direction under the new leadership of Henry Frédéric-Roch, one of the domaine's co-managers, together with Aubert de Villaine.


Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
1, Rue Derrière le Four
21700 Nuits-Saint-Georges
France

Tel. + 33 3 8062 4880
Fax + 33 3 8061 0572
↓↓

Close

Average Bottle Price

2014 2010 2005 2000 1995
7 399€ -32.5% 10 954€ -13.4% 12 643€ +410.4% 2 477€ +178.3% 890€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium, Brick red and Bright

ending

Long, Lingering and Vibrant

flavors

Cherry, Mushrooms, Earthy, Nutty, Dried-fruit and Truffles

nose

Mature and Round

taste

Average in Acidity, Low tannin, Perfectly balanced, Good texture, Mature, Medium-bodied, Firm, Focused and Elegant

Verdict

Sophisticated and Fine

Written Notes

I have had the pleasure of having this wine on at least two prior occasions, and the third time was still a charm. It was nice to have Louis-Michel there to have a glass and confirm what we already knew, that this was definitely 1923 Liger-Belair La Tache. He went on to say that he had a similar bottle and that to his knowledge, virtually all bottles were bottled and sold by Nicolas. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least if many bottles of this were still around, although it would probably create a witch hunt if a case of it showed up. Oops, that’s right, Big Boy has over a case left. He religiously bought this wine for years whenever it came up, no matter what the price. One sip is all one needs to taste why.
  • 98p
This bottle suffered from travel stress as it had rested only days before being opened for our fabulous Le Cinq tasting.
  • 91p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Poor

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

Every second bottle is a fake

Glass time

30min

Other wines from this producer

Bâtard-Montrachet

Corton-Charlemagne

Corton Grand Cru

Echézeaux

Grands Echézeaux

La Romanée-Conti Grand Cru

Les Gaudichots

Marc

Montrachet

Richebourg

Romanée Conti

Romanee Saint Vivant

Vosne Romanée

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cuvée Duvault Blochet

Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register