There are three barrels of the 2013 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru this year from the domaine’s 24 rows of vine. It has a very expressive bouquet, utterly charming even at this stage, with bright red berry fruit, wilted rose petals and cold stony scents. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, good depth of fruit, real backbone here with quite a structured, almost masculine finish. Real class here, this reminds me of the 2012, and it will be intriguing to see how these two vintages evolve.

Good dark red. Knockout perfume of black and red berries, violet, coffee, licorice and minerals, plus a lurking menthol element. Highly concentrated but imploded on entry, then expands with sweet dark berry and floral flavors on the back half, spreading out to saturate the mouth. WIth its even tannins, subtle rising length and lingering perfume, this stylish grand cru has it all. Leaves the taste buds vibrating with purple fruits and violet. Both the Suchots and the RSV yielded about 32 hectoliters per hectare--or considerably more than the estate's holdings in Prémeaux, which were affected by the July 23 hailstorm.