Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012

vinous94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A rich, explosive wine, the 2012 Échézeaux is a real overachiever. Here the flavors are expansive, dense and layered, with all of the intensity of the year very much in evidence. Discussing the relative merits of vineyards is one of the central aspects of appreciating Burgundy. This tasting shows why Échézeaux is not as highly regarded as some other grand crus. Specifically, the quality of the wines is more vintage dependent here than it is elsewhere.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Readers who want to check out the vintage at DRC should probably start with the 2012 Échézeaux, a wine that is wonderfully expressive today, although naturally very young. Still, the depth of the fruit and overall sense of pliancy add to an impression of exuberance that is hard to resist. Hints of tobacco, mint, new leather and dried herbs add nuance over time, but 2012 Échézeaux is above all else a wine of textural radiance and pure beauty.

vinous92

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep red. Sexy aroma of raspberry, orange blossom, Oriental spices, minerals, mulch and lightly vegetal herbs. Juicy, spicy and sharply delineated; tighter and more youthfully imploded than the Corton but quite pure. Finishes with firm tannins and a peppery element that gives the finish a slight tart edge in the early going.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep red. Deep aromas of wild blackberry, raspberry and sexy woodsmoke, complicated by floral and coffee nuances. Fat, chewy and sweet, but with plenty of medicinal reserve to the dark berry flavors. Finishes thick and sappy, with a suggestion of candied blackberry.

robert_parker92

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

I adored the 2012 Echézeaux Grand Cru from barrel and I adore it from bottle. Picked on September 29-30 at 22 hectoliters per hectare, those explosive aromatics from barrel are replicated here with bright red cherries, kirsch and rose petals, all beautifully defined and imbued with a sense of exuberance. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin, a dash of white pepper on the tip of the tongue and a beautifully poised, elegant finish. This is an Echézeaux determined to be above its station. Wonderful. 1,057 cases produced.

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 Echezeaux Grand Cru was picked on September 29 and 30 and blended with 70% stems. It is deep ruby in color. The nose is aromatic silk, sporting luscious red currant and wild strawberry fruit, subtle scents of dried flowers unfurling with modest encouragement. The palate is medium-bodied and extraordinary pure, an omen for the wines that followed. There is heavenly weightlessness to this grand cru, elegant and poised with superb persistency on the finish. As it grows in stature in the glass, you cannot but help conclude that this might well be one of the finest Echezeaux I have tasted from the domaine. Aubert de Villaine was traveling the Far East when I visited the domaine’s relocated offices that lie in the shadow of the church in the main square in Vosne. And so cellar-master Bernard Noblet, distinctive with his hulking frame, escorted me through barrel samples of their 2012. Not everything was available for me to taste. Their Montrachet was damaged by hail and consequently there is less than half the usual crop, and Bernard was adamant that the Corton was not in representative condition. Incidentally, there is no Cuvee Duvault-Blochet in 2012, as one would expect in such a small volume crop. The domaine gave me a summary of this infamous growing season that essentially repeated the remarks of other growers, but expressed in Aubert’s poetic, allegorical fashion, my favorite sentence: “The vigneron’s intervention is quiet and rare, as that of the crew of a sailboat navigating calm weather.” Of course, the domaine, especially vineyard manager Nicolas Jacob, was not spared the choppy waters of the tumultuous season that threatened to capsize many of the region’s finest vignerons. The estate’s biodynamic principles meant that applying the preparations and treatments proved challenging when one day out of every three was rainy. The harvest commenced on September 21 in Corton and finished nine days later in Echezeaux, the secateurs put back into their sheaths when the heavens opened on September 25 and 26. Yields are recorded at 20 hectoliters per hectare, which is approximately 25% less than usual. That said, upon entering the reception area I was confronted with what appeared to be the entire allocation for the United States shrink-wrapped on towering pallets. You have to remember that this is for one of the largest countries in the world. These barrel samples are rather academic. These wines are not available for another year and readers will find bottled reviews, which I have written every February since 1998, more relevant since the wines will be finished and ready for sale. However, I decided to publish these notes so that they can be juxtaposed against their peers and my remarks in 12 months time. One point that I found interesting was the more prudent use of stems, logical when you consider that the lack of sunshine in the early part of the season would mean not all stems would have been fully lignified. Therefore, the pickers had to patiently wait until the berries were fully ripe. You do not need me to tell you that their 2012s are variations upon “spellbinding” and will doubtless cost a pretty penny. Truth is, there are cheaper alternatives out there, many of which I have praised in my recent report. There is only one thing – they are not Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661 and through Corney & Barrow (UK).

vinous94

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A rich, explosive wine, the 2012 Échézeaux is a real overachiever. Here the flavors are expansive, dense and layered, with all of the intensity of the year very much in evidence. Discussing the relative merits of vineyards is one of the central aspects of appreciating Burgundy. This tasting shows why Échézeaux is not as highly regarded as some other grand crus. Specifically, the quality of the wines is more vintage dependent here than it is elsewhere.