An absolutely stunning wine, the 1999 Romanée St. Vivant is also deeply informed by vintage. Layers of flavor burst from the glass in all directions in a wine that captures the essence of Romanée St. Vivant. At times delicate and refined, while at others a wine of structure, the St. Vivant dazzles with its complexity and nuance. Clean veins of underlying minerality support the vibrant, saline finish in a breathtaking Burgundy endowed with superb depth. The first DRC wine I ever tasted was a Romanée St. Vivant, so this wine has always been a sentimental favorite. The 1999 is a stunner.

The 1999 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru has such a decadent bouquet that, tasting it blind (as was the case here), one could assume it was courtesy of Domaine Leroy. But it’s fooling with you. Within two or three minutes, that opulence recedes to reveal a truly captivating bouquet of vivacious, comely black and blue berry fruit that, unlike Leroy, evolves a marine aroma of shucked oyster shells and kelp, a facet that did not manifest during the 1999 DRC horizontal. The finely sculpted palate presents a backbone of super-fine tannin, a perfect bead of acidity, seamlessly integrated oak and a plushness that is the leitmotif throughout the 1999 Côte de Nuits. This is an irresistible femme fatale of a wine that will give two or three decades of pleasure. Tasted at the DRC/Leroy comparative dinner in Hong Kong.

A slightly green note is buried beneath the remarkably dense aromas of classic Vosne spice and crushed blackberries, full-bodied, very sappy flavors with a terrific inner core of complexity and still more spice. The purity of extract displayed here is mind bending and the overall harmony of expression is something to see. This remains quite backwards and will require plenty of patience.

Saturated ruby-red. Great pungent nose exudes blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and minerals; sappy but still faintly reduced. Tightly wound and powerful; high-pitched, spicy and minerally but currently showing less density and flesh than the Grands-Echezeaux. But a superb spine of acidity gives this very unevolved wine terrific verve and snap. Finishes impressively long and fine, with firm tannins and strong spice notes. Offers exciting potential but will require a good seven or eight years of cellaring.

The medium to dark ruby-colored 1999 Romanee-St.-Vivant has super-ripe black cherry and violet aromas. Medium-bodied and dense, it is austere, foursquare, and firm. This juicy red and blackberry-flavored wine has a tannic oak-imbued finish. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661.