2020 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, Marey-Monge

The 2020 Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru is one of the most surprising wines in this lineup. In many ways, the RSV is the quintessential wine at DRC in 2020, as it captures all the qualities that make this vintage so appealing. Sage, mint, blood orange, chalk and red-toned fruit are all lifted by bright saline notes that lend energy and drive from start to finish. A Burgundy of dynamic energy and precision, the 2020 RSV is quite simply dazzling. Drinking Window 2035 - 2065.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (March 2023)

A markedly more floral-suffused nose reflects ripe and very fresh notes of lavender, lilac, rose petal and violet on the aromas of both red and dark currant, anise, sandalwood and jasmine tea. There is excellent mid-palate density to surprisingly big-bodied and powerful flavors that conclude in a dusty, youthfully austere and impressively long finish that is shaped by dense but fine-grained tannins. This moderately austere effort is wonderfully classy and exceptionally stylish and is a RSV that should also age gracefully for years. Drink: 2038+

Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2023)

The 2020 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru was picked on 26 and 28 August at 31.8hL/ha. There is a luxuriant lament on the nose that unfurls with each swirl. With blackberry and wild strawberry, a touch of potpourri and pressed iris flower, this is beautifully-defined. It needs five minutes before the aromatics are fully unwound. The palate is medium-bodied with lace-like tannins that frame the pure dark berry fruit, judiciously sprinkled with white pepper and bay leaf hints. There is a subtle crescendo towards its structured finish, a nuanced marine note lingering on the aftertaste. Sublime. 1,718 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London.

Wafting from the glass with aromas of dark wild berries, rose petals, violets, sweet spices and hints of cracked pepper, the 2020 Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru is full-bodied, layered and intense, with a beautifully pure, vibrant core of strikingly concentrated fruit, concluding with a long, resonant finish. More tightly wound than the Grands-Échézeaux, it will demand some patience.

Black centre purple rim. More ethereal, yet with a solid undercurrent of black fruit notes at the very back but more the dark raspberry style which is one of the characteristics of the vintage. Supersaturated on the one hand, with a refined tensile strength on the other. Fresher strawberries to finish. Already complex in its floral fruit mix. Drink from 2030-2045.

Jasper Morris MW, Inside Bordeaux (November 2021)

Very dark garnet, notably deeper-coloured than the two Échezeaux. You can tell from the nose that this is a concentrated wine but it’s not releasing much flavour at present (admittedly I’m one of the earliest tasters at this big event). A sweet, quite juicy emissary from Vosne that builds notably towards the crescendo of a finish. This wine feels as though it would heal a sore throat. Dry finish but great persistence. Freshness again runs through it. (JR)