Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru 2005

I was blown away by the 2005 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru because though I have tasted it two or three times, never could I envisage that it would reach this level. It has laser-like precision on the nose with more blue fruit than I remember, so much mineralité, as if someone had just ground limestone directly into the wine glass. The palate is exquisitely balanced with filigree tannins framing the pure red fruit, a Pinot Noir with unerring symmetry. It gains weight and depth with aeration, ultimately transforming into a profound wine and one of the best bottles of Grands-Echézeaux that I have tasted from the domaine. Tasted at Noizé restaurant in London.

(like the Echezeaux, this had been racked about ten days prior to my tasting) Good deep red. Very ripe aromas of cherry, raspberry and spice; showing more oak today than the Echezeaux. Suave, primary and intense, with a penetrating spine keeping the flavors quite tight today. A firmly tannic grand cru that boasts more inner-palate energy than the Echezeaux.