I bought 3 bottles of 1985 La Tache and 2 bottles of 1985 Romanee-
Conti at auction in the late 1980s. The bottle of La Tache 1985 just
opened is the first bottle of these I have tasted. The fill of all of
the bottles is good and there are no issues that can be seen before
opening.

This was bottle # 2553 of 19487 bottles of La Tache in 1985. In
contrast there were only 5443 bottles of 1985 Romanee-Conti. Also
Romanee-Conti has a story associated with it that likely helps sales,
although I do not know if the story is true or not. The Prince Conti
and the king's mistress got into a big fight over who should be
allowed to buy the vineyard. The king had to step in to settle this
spat, and the vineyard went to Conti. The reason mentioned is that the
king thought the Prince would be of more use to him than an aging
mistress. Anyway, Romanee-Conti usually sells for much more than La
Tache in most years, although many agree that La Tache is not far
behind Romanee-Conti in many years and perhaps is better some years.

The short story is that the 1985 is the best red Burgundy I have ever
had with the possible exception of the 1959 La Tache.

The color is fairly deep scarlet, for a Burgundy, with a bit of age
showing around the rim, although some Chambertin is deeper in color.
The bouquet is extremely intense and complex as well as is the taste.
Tannins are resolved, there is enough acid, The balance is perfect.
The wine teases you with the bouquet and taste. In general mixed dark
fruits come to mind. It reminds you of dark cherries, black berries, a
bit of cassis, perhaps some red fruit such as strawberry and
raspberry, etc. Just about the time you think you have a description,
the wine seems to shift in bouquet and taste. The finish is extremely
long. A spicy component is more easy to detect if you leave a few
drops in a glass and then smell it in about an hour.

I do not think this wine will improve greatly with more time, but then
it might become a bit more smooth and complex. I will be surprised if
it does not hold up well for many more years.

Although these wines were expensive when bought, even recent vintages
of them now sell for so much that I do not even want to know current
prices. Now if you have to ask the price, you likely can not afford
these wines, especially Romanee-Conti.