1979 Echezeaux

I was quietly blown away by the sheer quality of this bottle of 1979 Echézeaux from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It has an indescribably elegant and refined bouquet that has the depth one would have expected from de Villaine's Richebourg, for example. There are copious dark berry fruit mixed with black truffles and girolle, undergrowth scents developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. There is plenty of depth and dimension to this grand cru, with real precision on the finish. A quite magical example of the supposed "lowliest" grand cru from the domaine in a lowly vintage. I'll take this any day!

The 1979 Échézeaux is now fully mature. Sweet tobacco, crushed flowers, autumn leaves and dried red cherries meld together in a gracious, highly expressive wine loaded with finesse. I don’t see much upside in holding bottles further, but there is more than enough acidity to ensure the 1979 will drink well for at least another few years.

Transparent and almost syrupy looking. Rust/ruby colour. Rich and heady and mushroomy. Rich and sweet and lively and glorious. Long and opulent and quite different from the other wines. Vigorous, slightly animal, but wonderfully sweet and pure. Glorious. Transparent and racy. A great tribute to DRC since this is from their weakest vineyard and by no means a classic vintage. Hint of treacle and a little hint of violets. Quite animal. Wonderfully readable and very long. Super vibrant, and very, very persistent. Wonderful sweetness. A very good bottle indeed. (JR)