2008 - Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

The 2008 Grands-Echezeaux is a stunningly beautiful wine. Exotic notes of star anise, fennel, hard candy and orange peel meld into a deep core of expressive fruit. The 2008 Grands-Echezeaux is powerful from start to finish, with endless layers of flavor that grow in the glass. It is a spherical, multi-dimensional Burgundy in need of at least a few years in the cellar, perhaps quite a few. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2038. tasted the 2008s in bottle in late June 2011 after having gone through the 2010s from barrel. Aubert de Villaine describes 2008 as a difficult vintage with a lot of rain. Botrytis was an issue and the vineyards required constant attention. On September 14 the weather changed dramatically. A steady north wind dried out the grapes and concentrated sugars quickly, which also reduced the size of the berries. A further selection of fruit lowered yields to an even greater extent, resulting in overall production that is as much as 50% lower than normal for the Domaine. As for the wines, they are magnificent in my view, but will require considerable patience. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Pale pinkish ruby. Oak spice is more cedary than on the Échezeaux, aromas overall a little less complex at the moment, more peppery and slightly sweeter fruit aroma. Also a very light floral note. Savoury and dry tannins and full of energy on the palate, though it seems a little more sober and reserved than the Échezeaux. Fine grained, freshness seems to come as much from the tannins as from the acidity though there is plenty of the latter. Overall less approachable now than the Échezeaux but with greater longevity, I would imagine. (JH)