Domaine de la Romanee Conti

wines

Light red. Beautiful nose, very youthful and pure. A vegetal note emerges with air. Packed with dense fruit and marked by a very firm structure of both acidity and dense tannins. The fruit is locked up right now in this massive, powerful La Tâche. Rather than open in the glass, this appears to close up, but have faith; this will be great.--La Tâche non-blind vertical. Best from 2010 through 2030. — BSWine Spectator | 95 WS(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Red) The nose evidences a slight floral quality, and a fascinating mix of earth, leather, tea and spice notes plus an interesting green bark component. The slightly austere, tannic, wonderfully rich flavors are dense, in fact extremely dense with excellent depth and terrific complexity and a finish that seems to go on forever. Though there are now hints of secondary aromas, this remains very young, structured and remarkably intense. When you get the right bottle, the ’93 can be a real stunner. Note: the inconsistency of this wine continues unabated as a bottle opened at the Domaine recently was almost aggressively vegetal and awkward. In short, when it’s good it’s very good but I’ve now had too many disappointing bottles not to be wary. (Drink starting 2018)Burghound | 95 BH

The 2017 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru is a pretty big step up in this range, both in terms of depth, power and energy. Here the flavors are dark, while there is quite a bit of tannin lurking beneath. Black cherry, graphite, leather, smoke, spice and menthol infuse the 2017 with tons of virile, somber character. Readers will have to be very patient. A whole range of sepia-toned aromas and flavors shrouded in tannin add depth to an imposing Grands-Echézeaux built for cellaring. Harvest was on September 12.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe lovely warm-spice and delicate rooty notes pull you into this very elegant and sophisticated red Burgundy that has tons of fine tannin and a firm mineral core. Wonderful textures right through the finely chiseled palate, then a long, extremely steady finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis is a compelling wine with its lovely, bright, forward cherry fruit accented with floral notes, attractive density and supple yet grippy tannins. Aubert de Villaine feels that Grands Échézeaux is closer to Romanée-St-Vivant in character than to its neighbour Échézeaux. The wine is fermented 100% as whole clusters, which brings a lovely note of rose petals to the lingering finish. To judge by the lush, accessible flavours, this should open relatively early yet have the substance to age for decades.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECFragrant purple colour, this is more elegant than the Echezeaux, but will it prove to be more concentrated? Yes, I think so on the palate, with multiple layers of rich red fruit, nothing black. Tasted from a Lagrange, hand-made barrel there was a sweeter and more complete mouthfeel. From François Frères the same wine was darker in colour with some black notes to the fruit, a little more spice, greater density but less finesse, a more obvious big brother to the Echezeaux. Tasted Nov 2018.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMMore brooding and reserved than the Échézeaux that preceded it in the tasting, the 2017 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with an enticing bouquet of cassis, blackberries, blood orange, exotic spices and musk. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a more introverted, structured profile than the Échézeaux, its considerable reserves of concentrated fruit framed by an abundance of powdery tannin and succulent acids. Long and penetrating, this will reward sustained bottle age. The Grands Échézeaux was picked on September 12.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPA cooler, more elegant and equally spicy nose of mostly red fruits and Asian-style tea is wonderfully fresh if notably more restrained. As is typically the case there is more size and weight to the broad-shouldered flavors that are shaped by firmer and slightly less fine-grained tannins on the impressively persistent finish. This is not as concentrated or powerful as it usually is but even so, it is going to require at least 10 years or so of patience and should amply reward 15 to 18.Burghound | 94 BH

The 2020 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru is a striking young wine, offering up aromas of mulberries and cassis mingled with orange zest, exotic spices and rose petals. Full-bodied, seamless and complete, with an immensely layered, fleshy palate, it concludes with a long, penetrating, saline finish. Such is its fruit concentration that its rich, powdery tannins are almost imperceptible. Over the last decade, the Grands-Échézeaux has tended to take a back seat to the Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg, but that certainly isn’t the case in 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPAn exceptionally dense purple. The bouquet suggests an exceptional wine. It has enormously more intensity than the preceding three wines, yet no sign of whole bunches, and just a light patina of oak. Rich mature fruit throughout. Dark strawberries with a suggestion of chocolate. Plump fruit backed by just enough acidity, long and graceful. Will these wines tighten up? Will tannins start to show beneath? For the moment they are smothered by the fruit. The longer in the glass, though, and the structure does appear. In terms of quality delivered in proportion to the fame of each appellation, the Echezeaux is the stand out wine from the Domaine this year. Drink from 2030-2045. Tasted Oct 2022.Jasper Morris | 97 JMThe 2020 Echézeaux Grand Cru is one of the standouts in this tasting. Opulent and sumptuous to the core, the Echézeaux is a real head-turner. I suppose it is not as complex as some of the other wines in this range, but as Aubert de Villaine once said to me about his Montrachet "You don’t always want complex, do you?" A rush of dark blue/purplish fruit, spice, chocolate, spice and lavender races across the palate. Readers will find a racy, hedonistic Burgundy that will drink well with minimal cellaring. What a wine!Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2020 Echézeaux has a deep colour and a noticeably dark fruit character, with aromas of ripe blackberry, earth, and spice complemented by floral rose petal notes. The texture is supple and rich, and the wine is a noticeable step in intensity and concentration, underlaid with velvety tannins that linger on the palate. The grapes come from the domaine’s 4.67-hectare holdings, largely in the lieu-dit of Poulaillères, and were picked on 30 August and 1 September with a short break for rain; 15,361 bottles were made.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECAn exuberantly spicy and wonderfully floral nose exhibits additional aromas of poached plum, mocha, jasmine tea and an interesting hint of tangerine peel. The rich, concentrated and powerful bigger-bodied flavors possess an absolutely gorgeous mouthfeel thanks to the abundance of sappy dry extract that also buffers the firm core of ripe tannins shaping the stunningly long finish. This actually isn’t quite as refined as the Petits Monts, but it is definitely more powerful and imposing, as well as slightly more structured.Burghound | 95 BH