The 2012 Romanee St Vivant, incidentally served before Richebourg rather than afterwards unlike previous years, was picked on September 28 and 29 at 24 hectoliters per hectare. There is a wondrous, ethereal purity to this 2012, a little more sumptuous than I recall it from barrel, with kirsch and freshly picked strawberries. As it opens, it gains more and more sensuality. The palate is rounded, almost curvaceous in the mouth, clearly more concentrated than the 2011 with a sense of authority and purpose, a bit of daring-do on the long finish. It leaves a slightly ferrous residue on the aftertaste, completing what is a marvelous and sensual Grand Cru. (NM)

The 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is a wine that I have not tasted since just after bottling. Three years on, it is clearly a class act. Lucid in colour, it has a captivating, exquisitely defined bouquet with that ethereal purity I remarked on previously. Cranberry and wild strawberry, freshly shucked oyster shells and brilliant focus. Maybe it has just tightened up in recent months. The palate is framed by precise tannin. This feels deep but light-footed and nimble, very focused with just the right amount of bitterness towards the finish. Just a beautiful wine that is just beginning to enter its stride. (05/2019)

This is notably more elegant with its pure and exquisitely perfumed and markedly floral nose that displays a huge array of Vosne-style spice elements along with a trace of oak. There is an ultra-refined mouth feel to the equally pure, intense, detailed and lilting medium-bodied flavours that appear to possess a bit more volume than usual before culminating in a penetrating and intense finish that is also quite compact and linear at present. The underlying reserves of dry extract are undeniably deep and buffer well the firm but not hard tannic spine and overall, this is a wine of grace and harmony. It's interesting as the mouth feel is light, indeed almost delicate yet the flavour authority is remarkable; it is the epitome of what I like to describe as power without weight.

Dense, concentrated and introvert. Silky start and then it closes up. Very firm and with a massive tannic charge under some well-disciplined fruit. Almost severe. You would certainly be crazy to open this before 2025 and should ideally wait much longer. Not high on charm for the moment. Great structure and magnificent potential. Just a bit of a throb on the end. Silky and gorgeous after time. Minerals and really opened out. 19+/20 points (JR)