Wine Advocate: 97 points

The 2019 Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru wafts from the glass with breathtaking aromas of raspberries and strawberries mingled with bergamot, Indian spices, peonies and rose petals. Full-bodied, vibrant and perfumed, it's finer boned than the more muscular Grands-Échézeaux, with a bright spine of acidity and beautifully refined tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. Striking for its purity and elegance, my handwritten notes include the phrase "pure sensuality." This was a particularly memorable tasting at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Revisiting the bottled 2019s was thrilling, as these are some of the most sensual, dramatic young wines I've ever tasted at this address; and the young 2020s, tasted from barrel (with the exception of several cuvées that had been recently racked), show immense potential too. A few small evolutions have been made in the cellars in the last few years, with Tonnellerie La Grange increasingly in evidence alongside historically dominant François Frères on the red side of the ledger, and barrels from Séguin Morey, Damy and Taransaud to be found in the new room devoted to the domaine's white wines. Bottling is also a touch earlier than in the past.