2015 Grands Echezeaux
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru was picked on 11 and 12 September at 30 hectoliters per hectare (higher than Echézeaux). It was more backward and recalcitrant on the nose compared to its young brother. Here there is more red fruit character - wild strawberry and cranberry, a slightly earthier take on the vintage in comparison. The palate is where it really comes alive. The first sensation is one of the energy, the tongue almost "fizzing" on contact, as if licking active limestone! You can really feel the mineral tension here, a very transparent Grands Echézeaux, although I suspect that the aromatics will take a little while to awaken. It is a broody Grands Echézeaux, which comes as some surprise given the growing season, however, it will shrug off its nascent introspection and will mature with the assurance that this vineyard always does. Dec 2016, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2025-2055
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Allen Meadows, Burghound
More reviews and scores
(55+ year old vines). This is notably more floral and what is interesting is that even though the fruit profile is just as ripe, it runs toward the red side of the spectrum while displaying a similar variety of spice components that includes a hint of sandalwood. This too is impressively constituted but despite the power and concentration the broad-shouldered flavors retain plenty of underlying tension as well as lovely precision before culminating in a massively long, balanced and harmonious if youthfully austere finale. By the usual standards of this wine I would not describe the 2015 version as massive though at the same time it is beautifully proportioned. Dec 2016, www.burghound.com
The Grands Echezeaux has an outgoing personality with plenty of juicy ripe fruit – still with the freshness and balance very much intact. The nose is bursting with fruit – notes of blueberries, boysenberries, cassis and red currant – brought forward by the earthy minerality of this generous terroir. On the palate generous with ample layers of juicy fruit .. lovely playful tension between fresh red fruit and the more silky and weighty darker aromas. A gorgeous Grands Echezeaux in the making. Jan 2017, www.winehog.org
The 2015 Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru is more brooding and reserved than the Echezeaux, opening in the glass with notes of raspberry, plum preserve, currant leaf, blood orange, hints of the forest floor to come and, again, a rich framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with notable structural amplitude and a long, authoritative and firmly tannic finish. This is always a wine that takes a long time to show all its cards, and the 2015 is no exception, but the raw materials indicate that patience will bear dividends. Cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare and harvested September 11 and 12. Feb 2018, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti or simply “DRC” is without doubt the most famous domaine in Burgundy and one of the most famous producers on earth. The Grand Cru vineyard from which it takes its name produces the world’s most expensive wine by a long margin.