2016 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echézeaux Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
(just seven hectoliters per hectare produced): Bright, dark red. Very pure but subdued scents of black cherry, blueberry, spiced tea and violet. Seriously concentrated but youthfully imploded, conveying a penetrating quality to its remarkably dense flavors of dark fruits, licorice and minerals. Finishes very long and powerful, with outstanding building length and grip. Note that very few first-generation buds survived the late-April frost either here or in the estate's Grands-Echézeaux vines, so both of these wines are made mostly from the contra-bourgeons (i.e., the second set of buds).
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Echezeaux Grand Cru was cropped at just six hectoliters per hectare because of the frost, which equates to just 12 barrels. I felt that the new oak came a little more strongly through the aromatics and rather obstructed the terroir expression at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with quite conspicuous oak: firm tannins that encase dark berry fruit, a touch of orange rind and then a tang of black pepper on the finish. I await to see if this will subsume the oak during the remainder of its barrel maturation, whether when tasted it was the closing winter months accentuating the wood or a factor of such a low quantity of production. Let’s see.
Shallow soil. Badly hit by frost. But what was left was concentrated and therefore high quality. It will be impossible to supply everyone so may put them in magnums. Both majestic and ethereal on the nose. Wonderful spice and intensity. Polished and lightly grainy. Wonderful tannins. Great lift. Really such a step up from the Corton. (JR)
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.