The 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru was picked on September 6 and 7 at 34hl/ha and bottled between March 25 and April 24. As Aubert de Villaine had noted earlier, this is a more introverted La Tâche that bided its time in the glass. The fruit is slightly darker than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, with the addition of a little blueberry and violet and background scents of moorland, though they needed 10–15 minutes in the glass before they revealed themselves. The medium-bodied palate delivers lithe tannins matched with a very fine line of acidity. This displays more body and grip than the Richebourg or Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and wondrous piquancy on the loamy finish. What it does not possess, unlike the previous two vintages, is a never-ending aftertaste. This La Tâche does its job but prefers not to hang around. Afford this four to five years. 2,082 cases produced. Drinking window: 2024-2050 (Neal Martin, Jan 2020, 97 Pts)
The 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru soars from the glass with a captivating and beautifully integrated bouquet of exotic spices, rose petals, raspberries, cherries and blood orange mingled with notions of cinnamon and coniferous forest floor. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with a deep and tightly coiled core that marks it out as the most muscular wine in the cellar, displaying considerable concentration and largely concealed structure. While this is a dramatic young La Tâche, there's evidently plenty held in reserve, too, and it simply has appreciably more presence than any of the other wines that preceded it in this tasting. (William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, Jan 2020, 96+ Pts)
The 2017 La Tâche Grand Cru is another of the more expressive wines in the range. It opens with striking mid-palate pliancy and also possesses a level of inner sweetness the other wines don’t have, and yet there is plenty of the tannic clout that defines the Richebourg as well. Time in the glass allows all of those elements to emerge fully, especially the aromatics that are such a La Tâche signature. Creamy, ample and wonderfully expressive, 2017 is superb today. I would cellar the 2017 for at least a few years, even if it is incredibly alluring right now. Harvest took place on September 6 and 7. Drinking window: 2027-2057 (Antonio Galloni, Mar 2020, 96 Pts)
Just a little more depth of purple in the centre. The nose has an impressive weight without much detail. Some fresh raspberry fruit starts to emerge, the weight is certainly there but the wine is not quite dancing today, not quite the precision that we expect and which will doubtless emerge with longer elevage. Doubtless the more classic rose petal notes will emerge. The finish is firmer than for the preceding wines, but I find that typical of La Tâche. On today’s showing I have scored the wine conservatively. (Jasper Morris, Nov 2018, 95-97 Pts)
