Producer note: Co-director Aubert de Villaine described 2006 as "once again a vintage of the vignerons, meaning that to be successful you had to have done excellent vineyard work as you could not have had high quality fruit without it. It's worth noting that the weather was rather crazy in 2006 and ranging from awful to excellent. July was extremely hot and dry, indeed so much so that we began to see signs of the vines shutting down and therefore blocking the maturation process. By contrast, August was cool and rainy, which allowed the development of botrytis very early on. Fortunately, as has been the case in several vintages recently, September's arrival brought with it warm and clement weather that corrected the excesses of the prior two months with warm temperatures and with no rain save for heavy showers the 23rd and 24th. These perfect conditions allowed for the rapid increase of sugars and a clear acceleration of phenolic ripeness levels as well. Indeed, in the third week of September we saw an almost 2% increase of sugar levels alone! While it's almost hard to believe, we had ripeness levels that were as high what we obtained in 2005. But it wasn't perfect because the botrytis born out of the humid conditions of August were still with us even if the ideal September conditions had stopped its spread. The storm of the 23rd jump started it again though thankfully it was too late for it to really do any damage. It was possible to make exceptionally good wine in 2006 provided that yields were reasonable and clean, something that wasn't necessarily evident to do, again to emphasize, without excellent work in the vineyards to get this ripe fruit. We began picking under dry, clear and cool conditions as soon as the sugar indicated a potential alcohol level of 13%, which is to say on September 20th (see chart below). Overall yields came in around 28 hl/ha, which is what we realized in 2001. In contrast to 2005 where very little sorting was required as the berries were truly magnificent, 2006 required ultra-meticulous attention to detail so as to eliminate any botrytis-affected fruit. The fruit was sorted twice, once in the vineyard by our pickers and then again in the cuvérie by our vinification staff on a sorting table. The fermentations unfolded over 18 days without any problems. In terms of the wines themselves, at this early juncture I honestly don't know what other vintage 2006 resembles but I believe the wines will be wonderful examples of burgundy with supreme finesse and elegance, providing generous aromas and silky textures." As to the brilliant 2005s, while it's extremely early to say very much, it's clear that they are going to be extremely long distance runners and have already begun to shut down hard. While I would never suggest to readers that they should not satisfy their curiosities, especially with wines of such rarified caliber, I do urge restraint as the '05s are tight, taciturn and already closing down. This clearly means that a lot of patience is going to be required and there is honestly no sense in committing infanticide as my in-bottle tasting confirmed that the DRC '05s are presently providing only glimpses of what they will one day be. In short, save your powder for another, later day. However, I will observe that they will be among the very greatest wines the Domaine has ever produced, which in this case is really saying something. One question that I have already been asked at least one thousand times is whether they are truly greater than the brilliant DRC '99s? While I emphasize that I respond to this question in all modesty as the DRC '99s are also among the greatest wines ever made at this fabled domaine, yes, I do believe that the '05s will ultimately surpass the '99s. However I take pains to point out that it is my view that they will do so differently as the '99s have a bit more mid-palate tenderness without the exceptionally firm '05 structure. I also wish to point out that while the DRC '99s clearly shut down after they were bottled, they did not shut down quite as firmly as the '05s already have. So, while most readers already understand well the need to cellar these wines, in the case of the '05s it's not only necessary but absolutely imperative. Tasting note: The soaring nose of spicy cassis, black cherry and violets this displayed from cask has now become very reserved and brooding, merging into rich, full and utterly delicious flavors that possess a beguiling texture and unusually fine tannins compared to what I typically see with the Ech. This is a big wine by any measure with excellent mid-palate density and superb length. Really good stuff and as the "value" play in the DRC line-up, one to strongly consider because it surpasses its normal quality level by more than a fair margin in 2005.

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