Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1998 Richebourg
Red 750 ml
Score: 90?
Tasted: Apr 15, 2015
Drink: now+
Issue: 58
Tasting note: A surprisingly cloudy appearance, even though I decanted the wine, was confirmed by the noticeable reduction the nose displayed for almost 30 minutes. Eventually spice, cherry and soft secondary aromas begin to appear that are in keeping with the attractively mineral-driven middle weight flavors that are not only elegant but almost lacy on the mid-palate though the natural taut muscularity shows up on the delicious, intense and moderately grippy finish. It's been more than 5 years since I last tried this wine and thus it's hard to say with confidence if this particular bottle was indeed representative of the wine overall. I will say that the last bottle that I tried was excellent if not a genuinely great for this exceptionally storied wine but this one was, on an overall basis, no better than average. Note that for my taste this has reached that transition phase where there is some secondary character in evidence. While the '98 Riche will certainly continue to evolve I would say that most of the upside development potential has been realized.
