This annual DRC arrivage tasting was organized by Martel St.Gallen, the official DRC merchant of German Switzerland. Ca. 60 participants, seated tasting, mostly long term DRC clients. It was lucky to be in Switzerland back to back with the 2013 and 2014 vintage. They are similar in the sense that they are both from cooler yeaers. The differences are that the wines from 2013 are typically leaner and more structured, with pronounced acidity and have a firmer tannic profile and sharper, cooler fruit notes. The wines of 2014 were more more approachable and harmonious, with finer tannins and riper fruit. It looked like the 2014 vintage had the edge, but with age 2013 is catching up I noticed.
Tasting Notes
White wines
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet 97 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: Of course no such issues in the 2014 white wine. The vintage shines in all its glory in this Montrachet – I am not a white wine drinker – but this was the star of the evening for me. This is a textbook Chard, expressive nose that marries the oaky tones with flowers and white fruit. Amazing texture, fresh, creamy, light and elegant. A wow Montrachet. As good as this is my personal preference for Chard remains with the mineralic Meursult Perriere terroir.
Red wines
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Domaine Prince Florent de Merode 93 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. On the positive, the tannins are well measured and there is no dryness at all. TN: Expressive nose with very prominent green, whole cluster notes. Complexity is here but came across as more rustic than usual. Last year it was one of my preferred wines, ahead of the Echezeaux, not this year. Let’s see how it develops. 93+
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux 94 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: Smokey elements in the nose, some paraffin as well, blue fruit as well, green notes. I liked the texture and the energy though and found this Ech to be closer to the Grand Ech than last year. 94+
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 94 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: Very similar to the Ech this year, cannot tell any difference at this stage beyond may be a bit more structure. As mentioned in the intro there is a mix of green elements in the red fruit, smoke and earthy tones. 94+
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 95 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: A step up from the three wines before the RSV has more blue fruit, volume and aromatic depth. This year it was also much closer to the Richbourg.
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 95 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: Visibly more structure than the RSV, nose also more closed with notes of whole cluster, dark and red fruit as well. This needs time for sure.
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 96 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: Last year there was a step between RSV and Rich on one side and LT and RC on the other side. Not so much this year. The aromatic complexity is a touch more refined but you have to search for it. Also RC and LT were very similar with RC having a softer mouth feel but did not come across as necessarily the better wine, so I scored RC and Lt on the same level in 2014 while in 2013 RC had a slight edge.
2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti 96 Points
Tasted during a DRC 2014 vintage arrivage event of an official DRC distributor. The 2014 vintage tasted noticeably different than the stellar 2013 which I still vividly re-collect. Right from the first sniff 2014 had notes of pine and green leaves intermixed with its red fruit, earth and game scents. I is the first time that I encountered this aroma profile in a DRC though I have to admit unlike in Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux I can’t go back to double digit number of vintages I have tasted to place this in a large reference grid. However, it was a discussion point at our table where other DRC connoisseurs were present. Was it due to borderline ripeness in 2014, earlier picking because of avoidance of Suzuki damage or just the weather? We will see if this persists when the wines are mature. TN: In 2013 there was a step between RSV/Rich on one side and LT/RC on the other side. Not so much this year. The aromatic complexity is a touch more refined but you have to search for it. Also, RC and LT were very similar with RC having a softer mouth feel but did not come across as necessarily the better wine, so I scored RC and LT on the same level in 2014 while in 2013 RC had a slight edge.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET IIII, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
October 2017