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94 Wine Spectator
Smooth and polished, with jammy raspberry notes adding complexity and richness to the basic plum and currant flavors. Feels soft and generous, but it has the intensity and length to want cellaring until 1998 or 1999. 914 cases made. ?
93 Robert Parker
The Grands Echezeaux is broader than the Echezeaux, with more black-raspberry and black-cherry elements in its smoky, exotic nose, as well as a longer, more opulent and fleshy finish. Slightly superior to the Echezeaux, its lifeline should be similar - between 1995-2010 . The DRC 1990s, all of which were bottled in April/May, are among the deepest colored wines from this domaine that I have tasted in the last decade. Moreover, they are firmly structured, with significant tannins from both the vintage and from the aging in 100% new oak barrels. For the fortunate few who have had the discretionary income to afford the other great vintages of the DRC from the eighties, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1989, the question is - are the 1990s superior? I am not sure they are any better than the 1980s, 1985, and 1988s, but they undoubtedly represent a classic, concentrated, long-lived style of wine. Moreover, all of these wines should have a more graceful evolution and broader window of drinkability than the tannic 1988s, as well as potentially greater longevity than the succulent and opulent 1985s. All of these offerings are outstanding, with that tell-tale complex, exotic fragrance that the DRC routinely achieves.
Producer
Domaine de la Romanée Conti
Not only the most iconic domaine in Burgundy, but also possibly in France and even in the world. With a monopoly of the two greatest vineyards - Romanée-Conti and La Tâche - and with a generous handful of some others within Vosne-Romanée and beyond, it secured its revered position all while being completely discreet and even modest. It is co-owned by the Villaine and Leroy-Roch families, with Aubert de Villaine guiding the ship since 1974. But it can trace its roots back to the 13th century, when its first vines were planted by the monks of Saint-Vivant. They have been organic since the 1980s and biodynamic since the 1990s. They are also undoubtedly the most famous domaine in the region that uses (and has always used) whole cluster fermentation, an established technique that was eschewed by Henri Jayer, but has inspired many others in recent years. Allen Meadows, arguably the most knowledgeable Burgundy expert and critic in the world, has only given one wine a perfect score - the 1945 Romanée-Conti.