Description
‘The grand old lady’ is how Bertrand de Villaine refers to La Tâche, now planted with 50-year-old vines and responsible for one of the great wines of the vintage in 2018, as it so often is. La Tâche is a small grand cru vineyard in the village of Vosne-Romanée, at the heart of Burgundy’s Cote de Nuits. It covers 6 hectares (15 acres) of land planted to Pinot Noir, and is a monopole of the iconic Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The vineyard occupies a very particular spot on the mid-slope of the Côte d’Or, at the very southern end of Vosne-Romanée. Its only grand cru neighbor is the La Grande Rue vineyard, which has only had grand cru status since 1992. The Aux Malconsorts Premier Cru vineyard separates La Tâche from the commune border with Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Tasting Notes :
The 2018 La Tâche Grand Cru exhibits quite a strong whole-bunch influence on the nose, perhaps a little too much when juxtaposed against the more seamless Richebourg. Scents of black truffle, pressed rose petal and decayed autumn leaves/undergrowth infuse the mainly dark fruit. There is something a little introspective about this nascent La Tâche. The palate is very well balanced with filigreed tannins. A multifaceted wine that leans more to the red side of the fruit spectrum. The silky, saline finish shows wonderful sapidity.
