Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015

vinous95

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru was cropped at 30.42hl/ha on 11 and 12 September. It has a glorious bouquet that springs from the glass: Morello cherries, crushed strawberry, crushed stone, just a hint of bay leaf all beautifully defined and with a little more horsepower than the Echézeaux. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry and comes across more saline in the mouth than its “little brother”. There is a pinch of spice that becomes more prominent with aeration and then against my expectations, it becomes understated and quite linear on the finish. One of the more backward 2015s from the domaine this year, I would cellar this for four or five years at least; a Grands Echézeaux that is full of secrets. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in bottle tasting in London.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Healthy dark red. More subdued on the nose than the Echézeaux, with its very pure aromas of dark berries, cherry, spices and violet conveying outstanding subtle lift. Larger-scaled but tighter and more imploded than the Echézeaux, showing more early mineral pungency as well as a tighter kernel of sharply delineated fruits and spices. But this very savory wine also boasts terrific sucrosité. Spreads out horizontally on the back end, finishing with big but fine-grained tannins and outstanding rising spicy length.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

(not yet racked): Fruit-driven aromas of crushed cherry and raspberry currently dominate the wine's mineral and spice components on the nose. Sweet and thick in the style of the vintage at DRC but also with terrific penetration and cut to its impressively sappy, dense fruit flavors. This very solid and remarkably primary Grands-Echézeaux boasts bulletproof fruit. It's more tightly coiled in the early going than the Echézeaux.

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

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.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: William Kelley

The 2015 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru is more brooding and reserved than the Échézeaux, 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.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru is more brooding and reserved than the Échézeaux, 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.