2010 DRC tasting

We tasted through the six 2010 DRCs from Corton to La Tâche, spending several hours follwing the wines. The 2010 character was much in evidence. Summing up, compared to the 2009s, the 2010s show slightly less dark aromas, on average a little less tannin, but more mineral notes, more fresh acidity and even more elegance. I found Échézeaux, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and La Tâche to be stylistically rather similar between the two vintages, while Corton, Grands Échézeaux and Richebourg differed more.

• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Domaine Prince Florent de Merode 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Nose with ripe strawberries, cherries, spice, a hint metal filings, some violets, some balsamico. Elegant and fruity impression, a big nose. Palate with cherries, quite pronounced minerality with mint, high and balancing acidity, well embedded medium tannins, long aftertaste with mineral. Very elegant, no trace of sweetness. Can be enjoyed now, will develop well, 94 p.
  
  This second vintage of the wine is rather different than the first, and is a much more classical Burgundy. The 2009 was much more Syrah-like, while the 2010 fits into the DRC lineup in a completely different way. A very positive surprise. The best Corton I have ever tasted.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Nose with cherries, ripe strawberries, oranges, animal notes with meat juice and dung heap, white flowers and vanilla, some roses; very elegant. Powerful palate, cherries, mineral notes with mint, medium(+) tannins, good acidity, fine balance. Long aftertaste with spice. Rather young but rather approachable now, 95(+) p.
  
  The elegance is typical for Échézeaux, but the wine also has all the power one can wish for in a top notch grand cru. Forget the claims that Échézeaux, also from DRC, is a second-rate grand cru or that the “real” DRC wines start first with Grands Échézeaux. These are not opinions that are based on evaluating the 2010 DRCs (or the 2009s). In the 2010 vintage, I also have the impression that the Échézeaux will require as long as the Grands Échézeaux to reach its peak.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru

  Nose with really dark cherries, oranges with zest – more specifically zest from a freshly peeled orange that have squired orange juice – animal notes with dung heap, white flowers and roses, mineral notes with gravel; extremely elegant. Powerful palate, ripe strawberries, some cherries, very pronounced mineral notes with mint, long aftertaste with mineral. Rather young, but reasonably approachable now, 96(+) p.
  
  Yes, Grands Échézeaux is a bit more grand than Échézeaux in this vintage as well, but in a different way than in the previous vintage. The 2010 is rather a notch more flowery and elegant (and with less animal notes) than its little sibling, and not really more powerful. It is not more tannic, as was the case in 2009.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  The nose is noticeably aromatic, with dark cherries, some balsamico, noticeable spice with toasted oak and coffee, some iron filings. This is the wine that is most closed. Initially I almost got an impression of just a little bit of volatile acidity, and due to the closed-down character the oak comes through more than in the other wines. Palate with cherries, balsamico, strong spice notes, powerful minerality, well integrated medium(+) tannins of a very silky structure, mineral, long aftertaste with cherries and mint. Young, 96(+) p.
  
  In a way quite closed, but the palate is still quite silky and surprisingly feminine for a DRC Richebourg, and not at all a tannic monster. At this point, this was definitely less a "wine of the nose" than the rest, but the greatness and the potential could definitely be felt on the palate.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Nose with dark cherries, flowery notes with violets, perfume and roses, some liquorice, spice, some animal notes; very elegant. Palate with cherries, good concentration, fine tart berry notes, powerful mineral notes, well integrated medium(+) tannins of a very silky structure. Young, but somewhat approachable now, 98(+) p.
  
  A marvelous wine with great power, but still with the elegance in focus, that sport where Burgundy is unsurpassed when it is in shape. Another participant described the wine rather strikingly: "the world's sexiest wine". To me this is without doubt a better wine than the Richebourg. Comparing to some of the other, the RSV shows more of a "bass note" to its flowery aromas than Échézeaux and Grands Échézeaux do, and in this vintage shows about the same level of tannin as Richebourg (which was less tannic than usual), but more velvet on the palate. Although La Tâche is an even bigger and probably marginally better wine, I would rather like to retaste the 2010 RSV in the near term, since it provides more pleasure in its current young state.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru

  Powerful nose with strong animal notes with some dung heap, dark cherries, some blood grapefruit, flowery notes with violets, gravel, hints of iron filings, spice and some stems. Definitely elegant. Palate with cherries, quite concentrated, powerful mineral tones with gravel and mint, noticeable spice notes, medium+ tannins, good acidity, long aftertaste. Young, needs time, 98+ p.
  
  As usual, La Tâche is a larger and tougher wine than the rest, and shows more traditional Burgundian character with some evidence of stems, i.e., a hint of green notes. Will it peak at 99 or 100? I hope I'll be able to find out, some time in the far future.

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Regarding drinking windows: Corton, Échézeaux, Grands Échézeaux and Romanée-Saint-Vivant can definitely be drunk with pleasure over the next year, but should preferably be decanter for a couple of hours before. After that, I recommend waiting until at least 2020 (10 years), and even better until 2025 (15 years). Richebourg and La Tâche should probably be drunk first from 2o25 (15 years), and if you can wait until 2030 (20 years) before opening a La Tâche, this should be even better.