2014 - Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

The 2014 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was a prelude to my revisiting that vintage in the Côte d’Or that autumn. It’s at a beautiful place right now. Vivid Morello cherries, wild strawberries and hints of pressed violet petals unfold on the nose. It is not the most intense I have encountered from this wine, yet the delineated nose is dazzling. The palate is tensile right from the start, prioritizing energy and verticality over horsepower, bright red fruit laced with oyster shell that almost reluctantly fans out on the finish. At nearly ten years of age, I see no reason not to crack one open now, but it will give pleasure over the next 15 years.

The same hue – garnet – as the Échezeaux but less dense. This seems to have a broader range of aromas than the Échezeaux. There’s still the dark-red fruit and a light note of spice but also something more like cedar and the freshness of a forest, even minty. Even more savoury and less open than the Échezeaux, with a tight grip on itself, tightly constrained and all waiting to open but needs a lot more time to do so. Very mineral on the palate, as if the fruit is locked in a steel box. The tannins are paper-fine in texture but so closely packed that they keep everything closed. Long, dry, savoury, mineral finish. (JH)