In my book, DRC La Tâche is probably the best wine. Always on, always stunningly complex. It stands as the apogee of red Burgundy – only equaled by the Grand Crus of Madame Leroy. Even within the pantheon of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, it invariably feels a step above the rest: more complete than Richebourg, more profound than Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and more self-assured than any of its stablemates. There is a singular authority to La Tâche, a sense that it knows precisely what it is and where it comes from. It is a monopole of just over six hectares, 6.06 to be exact, and typically yields between 15,000 and 20,000 bottles per annum. Its rows climb the slope from the lower portion bordering La Grande Rue to the upper reaches of Les Gaudichots, capturing a full spectrum of Vosne-Romanée’s temperament: spice, silk, and sinew.
Among critics, La Tâche is regarded with something close to reverence. Clive Coates once called it “a wine of majesty and muscle,” while Allen Meadows, in his more measured way, deems it the most consistent of the domaine’s Grands Crus. For William Kelley, it “walks the tightrope between power and grace like no other Pinot Noir,” and for the late Michael Broadbent, it was simply “a wonder of nature.” Across decades, La Tâche has shown an uncanny ability to combine intellectual precision with visceral pleasure – each vintage a variation on a familiar melody, always recognizably DRC, yet somehow transcending even that exalted name.
Needless to say, I was very excited when I heard that seasoned Swiss collector Peter Büel suggested to do a La Tâche vertical with each participant contributing a bottle as the entry ticket. Jan Martel, Managing Director of Martel AG St.Gallen who is the official importer of DRC for German Switzerland and Liechtenstein was also present and shared his comments and experience with this Cru. A wonderful evening, once more I was stunned how consistently great this wine is.
Tasting Notes
Flight 1
2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 97 Points
Light and filigreed, the 2017 La Tâche glides across the palate with effortless grace. The bouquet is lifted and finely etched—cranberry, rose petal, and a gentle stemmy perfume lending tension and verve. On the palate, this is all about poise and understatement: a velvet glove rather than a clenched fist. Sublime elegance, almost ethereal.
2015 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 100 Points
The 2015 La Tâche is a study in controlled power. Coiled and dense, yet remarkably supple in texture, it unwinds layers of fruit and spice with each passing minute. The tannins are abundant but feathered, the mid-palate saturated yet delineated. A wine of duality – density and transparency, muscle and grace. It will, without question, merit the full three digits once mature. Best after 2033
Excellent dishes of the Dolder Grand accompanied the line up
Flight 2
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 98 Points
Consistent with previous showings, the 2014 La Tâche remains a cool, composed beauty. Notes of crushed raspberry, green stems, and wet limestone are bound together by crystalline precision. Often overshadowed by the 2012 and 2015, the 2014 – and tonight also the 2013 – are now emerging from their shells, revealing the quiet authority of truly classic vintages.
2013 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 97 Points
Initially reticent, the 2013 La Tâche rewards patience. Once unfurled, it is pure and mesmerizing, all cool red fruit, fine-boned tannins, and mineral drive. The whole-cluster aromatics lend lift and a faint herbal grace. A wine for purists – a Burgundy lover’s Burgundy.
Flight 3
2012 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 96 Points
The 2012 La Tâche is richer and more brooding than its neighbors, with a touch of reduction at first that soon dissipates. Beneath lies a deep core of ripe fruit and spice, still knitting itself together. Time will be its ally; for now, the pieces are present but not yet fully composed. A wine to cellar, not to sip.
2011 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 95 Points
The 2011 La Tâche is the lightest in this flight – delicate, airy, and autumnal. Aromas of cranberry, dried leaves, and clove drift from the glass. It may lack the gravitas of the grander vintages and the tannins are a little sandy, but it compensates with charm and finesse. Graceful, transparent, and quietly elegant.
Flight 4
2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 100 Points
The 2010 La Tâche is breathtaking. Impeccably balanced, intensely woven, and utterly complete, it marries precision with depth in a way that few wines can. The finish is endless, the tannins satin-like, the whole symphonic. A dazzling achievement. Hold for a few more years if you can bear to wait.
2009 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 96 Points
The 2009 La Tâche is atypically opulent, its ripe fruit accented by gingerbread, croissant, and chestnut. There’s a warmth to the vintage that sits a touch outside the domaine’s usual idiom, yet the craftsmanship keeps it poised. A generous, open-knit La Tâche, though perhaps not a perfect bottle or in an awkward stage.
2008 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 99 Points
A dream La Tâche. At its zenith, the 2008 is a study in harmony and restraint. Aromas of wild strawberry, rose petal, and sous-bois mingle with the telltale whole-cluster perfume. It has the coolness of the vintage but none of its rusticity. Utterly captivating and intellectually complete.
Jan Martel, official DRC importer and Burgundy lover
Flight 5
1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 97 Points
The 1996 La Tâche is fully mature yet wonderfully fresh. Tertiary tones of autumn leaves, game, and forest floor mingle with a lingering core of red fruit. The tannins have melted away, leaving a silky, resolved texture. A wine that whispers rather than shouts – mature Burgundy at its most eloquent.
1966 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 97 Points
From a pristine cellar, the 1966 La Tâche defies its age. The nose evokes damp earth, truffle, and sous-bois, yet there’s a surprising vitality here – no oxidation, no fatigue. The palate is delicate, resolved, but very much alive. Proof that great Burgundy doesn’t fade; it evolves.
Flight 6
2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 96 Points
The 2007 La Tâche is the most forward of the group, touched by a whisper of oak and vanilla. Soft and caressing on the palate, it’s an early charmer – more modern in style, perhaps, but undeniably pleasurable. Drink sooner rather than later for maximum reward.
2005 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 98 Points
Still in its youth, the 2005 La Tâche shows formidable structure beneath its velvety surface. The tannins are beginning to soften, but the wine remains tightly wound, its depths only hinted at. A monumental vintage in waiting – patience will be rewarded.
Flight 7
2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 95 Points
The 2003 La Tâche is unmistakably shaped by the sun, yet remarkably composed. Ripe strawberry, dried cherry, and sweet spice lead the charge, framed by the vintage’s warmth. While not a paragon of classicism, it remains an articulate expression of Vosne-Romanée in a torrid year.
2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 94 Points
More evolved than expected, the 2002 La Tâche reveals tertiary notes of mushroom, leaf litter, and gingerbread. Ripe and open, it lacks a little of the tension found in the domaine’s greatest years. As Official Swiss importer Jan Martel observed, while 2002 is a very fine Burgundy vintage, it is not equally strong at DRC.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
November 2025
