2014 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

Winemaker Notes:

It is "Grands" before being Échézeaux. It is a country gentleman, aristocrat and dreamer, who idles willingly with the unhurried step of his horse in a forest filled with the scents of sundry mushrooms, mosses, decaying leaves and of furtive small game, which spill forth in a multitude of shifting alliances. All of that is expressed with feeling, in a refined language — musical, concise and pure like the message of a Mozart quartet.

Tasting Notes:

Here the expressive nose is even spicier and more floral with its lovely array of rose petal, lilac and lavender scents adding elegance to the mostly dark pinot and earth aromas that are also trimmed in a bit of wood but in this case it is even more subtle. As is virtually always the case this is bigger, richer, more powerful and more muscular with excellent volume to the rich and mouth coating flavors that deliver superb length on the chiseled, robust and hugely long finale. Patience will definitely be required.

- Burghound, 95 pts. 

The Grands-Echézeaux is a very serious wine indeed in 2014, opening in the glass with an inviting bouquet of red cherry, cedary new oak, dark spice and incipient pot pourri. On the palate the wine is rich, sappy and intense, with ripe tannins beautifully enrobed in cool, crystalline fruit and a lovely combination of power and grace. This should unfold considerable complexity with time in the cellar, and the wine’s depth and the integration of its tannins mark it out as a particular success this year. Harvested on 23 and 24 September. William Kelley: Superb nose of raspberry, cherry, spices and savoury notes with a wonderful silky texture and a vibrant black fruit finish. An amazing wine that is already tasting so well so young. 

- Decanter, 94 pts. 

The 2014 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru was picked on 23 and 24 September at 32.5 hectoliters per hectare. Slightly deeper in color compared to the 2014 Echézeaux, it is undeniably a tangible step up in intensity and complexity, offering disarming raspberry, crushed strawberry, and crushed limestone that almost verges on flintiness. It has beguiling purity and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with a noticeably grippy entry. It has a strong saline seam, structured but not a dense Grands Echézeaux. It gently fans out on the finish with pretty, mineral-soaked red fruit, although the aftertaste is not as prolonged as some of the greatest vintages I have tasted from this esteemed vineyard. Nevertheless, it remains a supremely gifted wine that will bestow two, possibly three decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted February 2017

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 pts. 

Bright medium red. At once more somber and higher-pitched on the nose than the Echézeaux, offering aromas of black cherry, dark berries, violet and bitter chocolate. A step up in texture and richness but densely packed and imploded today. At once powerful and cool, conveying terrific energy to its flavors of dark fruits, salty minerality, licorice and violet. This very long, powerful wine displays a downright chewy texture and yet there's noteworthy finesse to its tannins. Really glistens on the very long, rising finish. Forget about this beauty for a decade. 

- Vinous, 94 pts.