DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Echezeaux

DRC’s Echézeaux is sourced from what is arguably the finest lieu dit within the cru’s greater framework, Les Poulaillères. As with Clos de Vougeot, much of the vineyard was developed by Cistercian monks and there are substantial quality gradations between the thinner, windswept topsoils and the richer clay deposits below, comprising 11 lieu dits in all. DRC, as with all its Grand Cru holdings, owns the most substantial holding of 4.67ha. The site tends to perform extraordinarily well in good to fine vintages, when the thinner soils are kept moist across a gradual, attenuated growing season. The fruit is often of the red fruit spectrum, corralled by fine boned, sinuous tannins that unravel with patience in the cellar. While the least expensive of DRC’s prodigious holdings, this Echézeaux has a reputation for wines of breed and exemplary class.