2014 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Echézeaux Grand Cru

The 2014 Echézeaux Grand Cru delivered in barrel, but more crucially, would it deliver in bottle... when you might be able to drink it? Well, the answer is yes. It has a very pure blueberry, raspberry and mint-tinged bouquet that opens nicely in the glass, almost Suchots-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and a silver bead of acidity. It feels saline in the mouth with superb cohesion towards the finish. Everything is in its right place here and although I can see this closing down for some time, it should ultimately turn into an outstanding Echezeaux. Tasted November 2016.

Good ruby-red. Wilder on the nose than the Reignots, offering very ripe scents of plum, dark chocolate, brown spices and game. Then big, rich and chocolatey in the mouth, a bit in the style of its 2015 sibling but quite backward and hard to judge today. I get the feeling that this wine is painfully young but I'd be more confident about its ability to reward long cellaring if it showed more of the berry intensity of the other 2014 crus I tasted at this address.

Bright ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of menthol, graphite minerality and burnished oak, plus a whiff of raspberry liqueur. Plush, broad and dry; boasts large dimensions but this wine is less filled in than most of the premier crus here. A bit disjointed today, with the oak and acidity showing. Finishes with substantial chewy tannins.