Domaine de la Romanee Conti Corton Grand Cru 2020 (BH94)

Country:              France
Region:                Burgundy Rating:                 BH94, RP95
Grape Variety:    100% Pinot Noir
Type of Wine:     Red Wine
Bottle Size:         750ml

Burghound 94
Note: from parcels measuring .57 ha in Clos du Roi, 1.2 ha in Bressandes and .5 ha in Renardes though only about 1.6 ha of this are currently in production as .7 ha of Bressandes was replanted and the fruit from those vines was excluded A notably ripe nose speaks mostly of poached plum, warm earth and an array of spice and floral nuances that are trimmed in smoky wood hints. The decidedly rich and solidly concentrated big-bodied flavors possess a velvety mid-palate texture along with excellent energy on the muscular, moderately austere and superbly persistent finish. This is definitely robust and while not exactly rustic, it's not Romanée St. Vivant either - either way, it's clearly built-to-age and a wine that's going to need at least a decade first though it should be reasonably approachable thereafter.

By Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 95
A worthy successor to the brilliant 2019, the 2020 Corton Grand Cru exhibits aromas of dark wild berries, violets, baking chocolate and forest floor. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered, vibrant mid-palate, it concludes with a precise, penetrating finish. Aubert de Villaine had been barely able to contain his enthusiasm for the 2020 vintage when I saw him last year, and looking at the 2020s from bottle with Perrine Fenal at the domaine this year only confirmed why. This is a striking vintage for the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which is both very stylistically distinctive—and in that sense, even a little atypical—but which also shows the estate's different terroirs very clearly. The 2020s aren't as sensual and red-fruited as the 2019s; they're deeper-pitched and spicier in profile and will demand more patience, even if both vintages are likely to prove similarly long-lived. The domaine's white wines are also especially successful this year. I've also included tasting notes on the nascent 2021s from barrel, but it's the in-bottle notes, tasted at the domaine in ideal conditions, that are as ever the most important commentaries on each vintage.