Tasted at the La Romanée vertical at Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair. The 1996 La Romanée Grand Cru was an estate bottling. Much deeper in colour than the 1995, the nose is stoic, reserved and has little to say. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, the fruit darker, blacker and more tarry than the 1995, seguing into a tannic, quite muscular, saline finish that feels brutish compared to other vintages. Plus, I cannot see it improving in bottle. Tasted June 2015.