2005 La Tâche Grand Cru Romanée-Conti, Burgund (0,75l)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 2005 La Tâche Grand Cru, Romanée-Conti

The 2005 La Tache epitomizes the unique mysteries of Pinot (not to mention the character of a great site), with its aromas of game, musk, iris, star anise, vanilla, allspice, and naturally also an abundance of sweet, ripe, implosively tiny-berried fruit. Imagine a black Riesling. On the palate, a vivid freshness of fruit, pungency of spice and flowers, and melting away of what in point of analytical fact are abundant tannins, all engender an almost white wine dynamic of fruit-mineral call-and-response and clear, incisive penetration of flavors to every recess of the mouth. This is a T.R. sort of wine – you just don’t feel the stick. - David Schildknecht, Apr. 2007

Allen Meadows' Burghound - 2005 La Tâche Grand Cru, Romanée-Conti

There really is not all that much difference between the way this bottle showed and my original review from late 2007 other than the nose of this most recent experience is notably less exuberant. However it remains just as kaleidoscopic and dazzling with its array of red and black cherry, cassis, plum and subtle earth notes replete with beguiling Asian spice cabinet aromas and essence of rose petal. The intense, powerful and breathtakingly concentrated flavors possess a taut muscularity before culminating in a palate coating finish of simply huge length. Not surprisingly, this is still structured to the point of being chewy yet it is never rustic or coarse because the gorgeously detailed palate impression is buffered by buckets of dry extract. As readers know, I often use the word Zen to describe the kind of inner harmony of a great vintage of Romanée-Conti but rarely with La Tâche yet in 2005, the LT has this element of inner calm and grace as well. In sum, I remain confident that this huge but utterly classy and stylish wine will go down as one of the all-time great LT's provided that you have the patience to wait as it is going to be a very long distance runner. I should note that two bottles tasted in April 2016 showed some troubling signs of brett; however I had these bottles in China and it's possible that the storage and shipping were not what they should have been though. By contrast, another two bottles tasted in May 2016 were completely clean. - Allen Meadows, Mai 2016

Vinous - 2005 La Tâche Grand Cru, Romanée-Conti

The 2005 La Tâche is simply magnificent. There is not too much I can add. Deep, powerful and richly textured, the 2005 simply has it all. Time in the glass releases the aromatics, but it is the wine’s pure sensuality I find most enticing. A host of dark red and blue stone fruits, hard candy and wild flowers take center stage. Even with all of its intensity, the 2005 retains striking freshness and purity. Can it get better than this? - Antonio Galloni, Mai 2016