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99 By Robert Parker
98 By Wine Spectator
Not surprisingly, this is another awesome example from the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. If pure, honeyed thickness and glycerin are what you are looking for, there is not a more concentrated Chardonnay produced in the world. The only thing I have ever seen from the new world that approaches a wine such as this in nectar-like richness were the 1978 and 1980 Chalone, but that winery has now resorted to making much lighter, more commercially-oriented products. There is nothing commercial about this 1989 Montrachet. If you have $500 to spend, here is a bottle that will offer an awesome nose of honeyed, buttery, apple fruit, intertwined with aromas of smoked nuts and toasty new oak. In the mouth, it is almost greasy because of its extraordinary viscosity, thickness, and richness. The finish is explosive, and while the alcohol must be over 14.5%, it cannot be detected because of the wine's phenomenal concentration. This wine may merit a perfect score in 5-10 years, but currently, it is slightly less ethereal than the 1986 was at a similar period in its evolution.
Producer
Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Not only the most iconic domaine in Burgundy, but also possibly in France and even in the world. With a monopoly of the two greatest vineyards - Romanée-Conti and La Tâche - and with a generous handful of some others within Vosne-Romanée and beyond, it secured its revered position all while being completely discreet and even modest. It is co-owned by the Villaine and Leroy-Roch families, with Aubert de Villaine guiding the ship since 1974. But it can trace its roots back to the 13th century, when its first vines were planted by the monks of Saint-Vivant. They have been organic since the 1980s and biodynamic since the 1990s. They are also undoubtedly the most famous domaine in the region that uses (and has always used) whole cluster fermentation, an established technique that was eschewed by Henri Jayer, but has inspired many others in recent years. Allen Meadows, arguably the most knowledgeable Burgundy expert and critic in the world, has only given one wine a perfect score - the 1945 Romanée-Conti.