Andrew Jefford: Appearance: Mid-depth of bright, clear scarlet. Aroma: Arresting and exquisite, combining the breadth of Richebourg with the bright, fruity jet and spurt of Echézeaux (though those fruits seem a little more roasted here). There’s a floral sheen, too, meaning that the La Tâche seems to have the finest aromatic grain of the entire family at this stage: The whole is woven together with a perfumed, Cologne-like finesse. Welcome to the springtime of a great Burgundy. Flavor: Luscious! The fruit has the intrinsic energy and power to shock, which is proper to Burgundy, yet there’s a seductive sweetness and a wealth behind that darting energy. The fruits are complex and many-faceted; there’s a powdery drizzle of spice; the wine has beautiful weight, balance, and breadth. Acids? Ripe and meltingly harmonious. Tannins? Finely ground. Once again, I am struck by the unusually gracious quality of these ’05s from DRC. There isn’t the driving, showy assertiveness I have found in other good or great ’05s; instead, they are unforced and unfussy, their complexities arrayed as calmly as peaks in a mountain range. If you had to present an alien with a single glass to define “wine,” this would be the one. 19

Michael Schuster:A hugely seductive scent-bath of a nose; “fruit” is a totally inadequate word here, as this is a completely different order of sensation: heady without heaviness, freshly ripe cherry aromas, exotic spice, and an intense, glass-filling presence. To taste, of course, there is great harmonic complexity (musical analogies are practically the only ones that will suffice), a wider register of aromas, and such an amazingly harmonious balance as to surprise by its accessibility already. Beautifully ripe, with an incredibly fine tannin, and a freshness without any sense of “acidity” as such; a moderate concentration in “fruit per se,” but an enormous concentration of fragrance. Absolute ease and grace, an endlessly gentle, spicy caress of a wine. As on the nose, here is a more extensive complexity, along with a greater intensity of sweetness than on the Richebourg, but all the while this remains magnificently discreet. About as perfect as it gets in this style of wine. Leave 15 years, even if tempted before. 2020–45+. 19.5/20