Flesh and Stone: DRC Edition

Very yeasty on the start - then it shifts, slowly and deliberately, into something almost perfumed: white flowers, yellow fruit, a touch of bruised orchard fruit. Then honey, propolis, smoke, green hazelnut, orange oil, praline, and white bread. It's dense, almost full-bodied, yet perfectly balanced - poised on that fine line between power and elegance. Razor-sharp acidity, strong mineral backbone, and a long, complex evolution. There's a mossy, sherry-like depth on the finish, joined by white cherries. Muscular but graceful. This is spectacular wine, precise and layered - and with serious ageing potential. Near-perfect.

Oof. This is so restrained yet perfumed at the same time. Young, fresh berries - mostly black - layered with violets, exotic spices, orange zest, and a curious touch of fish and pickles. Dried roses too. It's all delicately strange in the best way. On the palate - muscular, but in the quiet, Burgundy sense of the word. It's like a cherry chocolate fondant turned into wine. Powdery tannins stretch endlessly, seamless and fine. It evolves with grace, opening to mulberries, dried cherries, dried flowers, a hint of pickles, tobacco, nutmeg. Beautifully composed, with a strong sense of style. Still young, but already magnetic. IMO a smart buy.

And again - that fishy and slightly pickled edge with citrus zest, but here it's the florals that take the lead. Peonies, roses, red berries (where Échézeaux leaned more into black fruit), orange peel, spices, and a dusty, earthy grounding. There's also iron - unmistakable. The wine has great concentration but remains delicate and juicy, with a silky (if slightly more textured) mouthfeel and a perfumed finish. This is sexy stuff. There's a sharpness and a hint of bitterness on the finish - a kind of emotional tension. Sharper than the other one, but that's part of the charm. Still young, still evolving. A whisper of smoke. Icelandic moss and menthol sneak in at the end. Flawed in all the right ways. Irresistible.

Oof, and this time it's all about pickles. And no fish in sight. A touch of raspberry, dill, black berries, rose petals, orange zest, grapefruit, forest floor and moss. It's intense and powerful, yet so finely balanced it feels almost ethereal. Wild in spirit but incredibly precise - like an angry woman in silk gloves. A proper natural wine in the best possible sense. Bitter herbs, a mix of red and black fruit with a distinctly Nordic vibe, and that same pickled edge. Salty, extremely layered, and unapologetically unfriendly - but stunning. Yo. The texture is out of this world. A penetrating, haunting wine.

Dark berries, a bit of jam, blood, dark tea and spices. Oh, and Liquorice! The nose resembles Barolo - and the palate does too. Rich, balanced, intensely textural with a slightly coarse, sandpaper-like tannin. But that's the point here - it's not about aromatic descriptors, it's about weight and grip. Feels properly old-school. Compared to Echézeaux, which is floral and fruit-driven, Grands Echézeaux is saltier, more iron-laced, and carries a kind of asphalt gravitas. In some ways, the outlier of the evening - but make no mistake, this wine is stunning.

Oh ok. At first, it's full-on horse's arse, but then - behind the funk and a wave of brandy-like notes - come dates, spices, earth, soy sauce, caramel, damp wood, dried raspberry and dried wild strawberry. The palate hits with seriously high acidity, still some tannin, though the structure is beginning to fray a bit. Flavours of lime dust, chalk, ya'an cha, fig, raisins. There's still body and texture holding it all together. It's good - though we're flirting with necromancy here. Then again, if this were Tamriel, I'd happily risk arrest for this kind of magic.

Fuck me, what a stunning nose. Honey, biscuit, sunflower brittle, hazelnuts, wax, malt. Wow. The palate follows through with toasted nuts, salted caramel, wax, iodine - all laid thick over a bed of roasted sunflower seeds. Broad and weighty, yet kept alive by piercing acidity. It's got so much potential - years, decades maybe - but already in magnificent balance thanks to age. This is top-tier stuff. Not about separate components, but about how seamlessly it all folds into a single, cohesive story. On the nose, it's some ancient sweet wine from the Loire; on the palate, it's old Champagne without the fizz. What a ride.