This was last year and still is considerably more reserved and less expressive though the discreet aromas are decidedly more elegant with much more floral influence on the violet and rose petal infused aromas that are nuanced by soy, hoisin and clove notes that can also be found on the muscular, robust and powerful big-bodied flavors that exude dry extract on the detailed and hugely persistent finish. This is both stylish and classy with tautly wound flavors that have that great sense of underlying tension and cuts-like-a-knife precision. Note however that this is, at a comparable stage, so much more primary and backwards than normal that this will need a very long time in the cellar to arrive at its majority, indeed I am not at all sure that the 20 years that I am suggesting will be sufficient.

The 2005 Grands-Echezeaux displays an utterly different, less charming personality than its “little” sibling. Fresh black raspberry and black cherry hover between sorbet-like and faintly-caramelized manifestations. The palate is obviously dense, with considerable grip and ultra-fine tannins, incipient silkiness, but not the creaminess of the Echezeaux. Fresh berry, faintly tart fruit skin, and nut oils inform an uncannily kinetic finish that makes one’s mouth quiver. Once the grapes in these fabled vineyards had reached a potential alcohol of 13%, reports Aubert de Villaine, he was ready to pick, because conditions had seldom been so conducive to perfect ripeness (including that of the stems). It was all done in a week, commencing with La Tache and Romanee Conti, and finishing on September 23 with Romanee-St.-Vivant (and Montrachet, on which I shall report at a future date). De Villaine intended to bottle in March or April by gravity in six-barrel lots, as has become general practice here over the past decade. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661.

The 2005 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru is a wine I have not encountered since just after bottling. It has a fabulous bouquet, so pure and complex, its mineralité riveting you to the spot. Crystalline. The palate has a divine balance with immense poise, which is uncommon in this muscular vintage. The tannins seem to have melted in recent years, exerting a gentle grip with a hint of shaved black truffle on the finish. This is in a good place at the moment. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune.

Fresh ruby-red color. Black raspberry, mocha, smoky spices and earth on the rather discreet nose. Sweet but high-pitched, communicating an impression of more youthful fruit than the Echezeaux. This boasts terrific lift and aromatic intensity in the mouth but is quite backward today. Finishes extremely long, with nicely integrated tannins and excellent verve. I love the energy here. But this will need 15 years.