One of the most purely enjoyable wines of the evening, the 2000 Romanée St.-Vivant graces the palate with an exotic melange of Asian spices, blood orange and dried flowers of all kinds. The 2000 is a striking RSV that speaks to finesse and grace. On this night, it is simply stunning.

Full medium red. Pure, complex, perfumed aromas of violet, gunflint, minerals, spices and earth. Sweet but light on its feet, lifted by a note of menthol. Quite youthfully unevolved, but finishes with noteworthy persistence. Tannins are firm and dusty.

Quite deeply colored with a much more reserved, tight nose of very ripe pinot fruit and notes of dark chocolate, spice and linear, understated, wonderfully complex flavors that have a dusty texture to them. This is relatively powerful but remains discreet and finishes with the classic RSV seductiveness plus in a bit of a surprise, with more density than either the Echézeaux or the Grands Echézeaux. Very fine if not truly excellent vintage for this wine.

Deeper crimson. Denser and more autumnal than the Echezeaux. (Aubert reminded me that a particularly high proportion of this parcel, 1.5 out of 5.25 ha, is deemed too young to produce wine with enough finesse for the DRC label and is usually sold off to a merchant.) Quite a firm spine to this wine that is still tough and tight. Bit gawky at this stage with very obvious tannins. Lively, not big, rather mean finish but there is no shortage of material there. (JR)