Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru 2010

The 2010 Richebourg Grand Cru has an open, exuberant nose with dark berry fruit, bergamot, Earl Grey and crushed stone, seeming to "billow" with aeration. Fabulous delineation. It frankly puts all the preceding Richebourg wines in the shade. The palate is beautifully balanced and poised, finely tuned with a crescendo of red fruit and a perfect bead of acidity. This grips the mouth and doesn't let go, becoming more and more pixelated in the glass. Magnificent. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

The 2010 Richebourg is a kaleidoscope of black fruit, graphite, mint, violets and spices. It is a towering, statuesque wine that completely saturates the palate in all directions, seemingly at the same time. The 2010 stands out for its beguiling, totally exquisite aromatics. The trademark Richebourg structure is present, but this seems to be a vintage where finesse takes precedence over sheer power. Anticipated maturity: 2030-2060.

Very good deep red. Much more austere on the nose than the Romanee-Saint-Vivant, hinting at dark fruits, menthol and violet. Then splendidly rich but backward, boasting obvious saline minerality but hiding more than it's showing today. Substantial dusty but refined tannins saturate the mouth on the very long, subtle, firmly structured back end. Perhaps the least sweet of these 2010s today; I note that this wine was similarly inscrutable from barrel a year ago.