2020 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru

The 2020 Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru is a striking young wine, offering up aromas of mulberries and cassis mingled with orange zest, exotic spices and rose petals. Full-bodied, seamless and complete, with an immensely layered, fleshy palate, it concludes with a long, penetrating, saline finish. Such is its fruit concentration that its rich, powdery tannins are almost imperceptible. Over the last decade, the Grands-Échézeaux has tended to take a back seat to the Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg, but that certainly isn't the case in 2020.

The 2020 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru is stellar. It boasts tremendous aromatic presence and nervous energy. Blood orange, rose petal, lavender, chalk and dark red-toned fruit build effortlessly. There is a feeling of vibrancy to the Grands Echézeaux that is impossible to miss. Bright acids perk up the long, beautifully persistent finish. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. It's a gorgeous wine in the making.

The 2020 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru has a fresh, vibrant and more floral bouquet than the Echézeaux, but certainly darker fruit with a marine element emerging with time in the glass. The palate is taut and minerally, a little more tertiary than the Echézeaux with a hint of olive on it saline finish. A clear step up from the Echézeaux at the moment.

Healthy deep garnet. Unlike the Échezeaux, this is quite inexpressive on the nose currently. Sweet, charming start with vibrant fruit on the palate. Real energy here! And certainly enough freshness. Quite powerful on the finish. A suggestion of something exotic and spicy. Really very exciting and it will presumably develop a bouquet with time in bottle. Again, that slightly dry finish … (JR)