2022 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Echezeaux Grand Cru

The 2022 Echézeaux Grand Cru is absolutely exquisite, not to mention a significant step up in the range. Impossibly silky tannins and deep, penetrating aromatics give the Echézeaux its seductive personality. Medium in body and polished, with phenomenal balance, the Echézeaux shows how compelling the vintage is. There is no heaviness at all, nor any sign of a growing season marked by severe heat and drought.

The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's Pinot Noir harvest concluded on 11-12 September with the 2022 Échézeaux Grand Cru, a fleshy and expressive wine that bursts with aromas of sweet dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of incense, orange zest, exotic spices and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and flamboyant, with a layered, juicy core of fruit, it concludes with a broad, sapid finish.

The 2022 Échézeaux Grand Cru was picked on 11 and 12 September at 42.9 hL/ha. This was impressive out of barrel. It soars from the glass with black cherries, raspberry and white-tipped strawberry, the floral element (violets) less prominent compared to its showing from cask. There is just a hint of cumin in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy tannins that bare some consanguinity with the Corton. A bit rough and rugged at the moment. though time will abrade its edges. Fine depth, a little more saline than I recall, it remains controlled and focused all the way through to the lightly peppered finish. It is an Echézeaux that demands to be taken as seriously as its siblings. 1,966 cases produced.

The last of the Vosne wines to be harvested, 11–12 September. Average vine age 35 years, soils mostly stony and shallow, yield 42.9 hl/ha. Bottled 21–24 May 2024. Total production 1,966 x 12. Mid smudgy crimson. Sweeter smelling and more red-fruited than the Corton. Less floral. A firm grip in the tannins, more evident grain and resistance. But as it opens, it becomes a darker and more intriguing wine, with hidden riches and the whole-bunch influence starts to lift from the glass giving this a lighter touch than I at first thought. A chameleon in the glass with a touch of spice at the very end. (JH)