Domaine Sylvain Cathiard, Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2008

Good medium red. The nose shows a medicinal reserve to the aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, orange zest, spices and minerals. Wonderfully fine-grained, even delicate, on the palate, but with penetrating floral and mineral notes giving the middle palate outstanding energy and finesse. Less open today than the Malconsorts but even more concentrated and persistent. The rising back end offers utterly palate-staining yet incredibly subtle flavors of berries, flowers and minerals. In an ideal world, this would be my everyday drinking wine a decade hence.

• Reviewer Name: Stephen Tanzer
• Review Date: March 2010