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Romanee St. Vivant 1993 Thomas-Moillard

4/2000. Bought at the winery Apr-96 for $51.
Thomas-Moillard wines from their own Domaine (as opposed to their negociant business mediocre quality wines sold as "Moillard" or "Moillard-Grivot") are among the most neglected and thus reasonably priced high quality (B) wines. They have small parcels in some of the most coveted vineyards in the Cote d'Or, of which Romanee St. Vivant is one of the stars.
I bought two bottles of this wine six years ago while visiting the winery in Nuits-St. Georges and this is my first taste of it.
COLOR: Medium dark ruby, slightly clearing towards the rim. Some sediment.
NOSE: Very deep and penetrating nose of red and black fruit, oriental spices and noticeable but not overstated oak notes. These are augmented by pronounced yet very clean 'Bourgogne Nose'. Impressive nose that is quite developed though not yet completely harmonized.
TASTE: Quite spectacular on the palate. Very concentrated wine with a spectrum of flavors that range from semi-mature red fruit to ripe prunes and complex winyness. Some rough edges are still there but the wine is highly expressive if lacking somewhat in delicacy.
LENGTH: Very very long and well balanced aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied Burgundy Grand Cru. Plenty of fruit, impressive concentration and good winyness. Excellent backbone and good acidity provide grip and focus. Tannins are there but well integrated. Still, there's a touch of hardness to the wine. I wonder if few more years of cellaring will help soften it.
OVERALL: Superb. Well expressing the unique terroir of the vineyard, this wine is currently somewhere in the upper-middle stages of its maturity process.
MARK: 18.5/20.BUY MORE? Yes.


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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.