Grands Echézeaux, Domaine de la Romanée Conti 2012

The 2012 Grands Echézeaux was picked on September 22, 24 and 25, at 27 hectoliters per hectare. Compared to the Echézeaux the nose is more demure, perhaps more refined, does not feel the urge to ""put it all out"" as it were. Reticent is the word - yet the precision and delineation is undeniable. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannin, here a mixture of red and black fruit, a little broodier and more introspective than its ""cousin"" but with greater persistence in the mouth. It unfurls on the finish: hints of dry tobacco and cedar, leaving you with the impression of a ""masculine"" Grands Echézeaux, one built for the long haul. 987 cases produced.