(vinified with 100% whole clusters; with thanks to Stephen Rogers). This beautiful effort is evolving glacially with its ripe but still exceptionally fresh nose of blackberries, plum oriental spice and soft earth notes. There is excellent phenolic maturity to the equally ripe, rich and relatively supple medium-bodied flavors that are still underpinned by notably firm tannins and really lovely acid/fruit balance on the beautifully long finish. This is still tight but not hard and there is good vigor, indeed even force behind this wine. The ´99 is one of the better DRC Echézeaux in a long time and while it could be drunk now with pleasure I will continue to cellar my few bottles for another 4 to 7 years though I underscore that it will live effortlessly for years. Tasted several times recently with consistent notes.

Score: 93 Allen Meadow (AM), Bourghound (BH), April 2016

I was intrigued to see how the 1999 Echezeaux would be performing at 14 years of age since I have not tasted it since just after bottling. It has a very classy nose of dark cherry fruit, quite exotic for one of Aubert de Villaine’s wines, with hints of blood orange and even peach skin infusing the opulent aromatic profile. The palate is well-balanced and tightly knit, though it is clear that the RSV 1999 alongside was born with a higher level of delineation and clarity. Still, you have to admire the brio and hubris of this Echezeaux, and its youthful zeal suggests it will age over three decades without too much sweat. Delicious. Drink 2015-2030.

Score: 92 Neal Martin (NM), The Wine Advocate (WA), August 2013

The 1999 Échézeaux stands out for its striking inner perfume and sweetness. Dark cherries, plums, mocha, violets and menthol all flesh out in a rich, inviting Burgundy that is just now beginning to approach an early plateau of maturity that will last another 20+ years. With time in the glass, the 1999 turns deep and rich. In this case, the vintage is a very strong marker, perhaps even more so than site. Far from an easygoing wine, the 1999 Échézeaux is a wine of notable intensity and pure power.

Two terroirs, across four vintages in four different decades. Those were the parameters for this fascinating tasting held at the World Wine Symposium a few weeks ago. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Co-Manager Aubert de Villaine supplied all of the bottles from the estate’s cellars, which accounts for the brilliant performance of some of the wines in this tasting, the 1985s and 1979s in particular. Although the purpose of the tasting was to analyze the role of terroir, I actually found the wines to be just as marked by the personalities of their respective vintages.What at thrill it is to taste these two 1999s, wines from one of my all-time favorite Burgundy vintages. The rainy spring turned out to be a blessing given the intense heat and drought that last from mid-August pretty much until the harvest. This is also the first vintage of the Vosne 1er Cru bottling, which seems to correspond with an increase in quality of several wines at the Domaine, most notably the Échézeaux, Grands- Échézeaux and Romanée St. Vivant. The Échézeaux was brought in on September 21 and 22, while the Romanée St. Vivant was picked on September 24 and 25.

Score: 94 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), December 2013