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Flesh and Stone: DRC Edition

A quiet encounter with wine's most intimidating names.


Some events are simply unmissable. It's not just about the obligation to be there; it's the feeling that skipping out would mean cutting something essential from your own story. This time, it was a tasting with Maksym Demchenko, and the lineup was astonishing. Honestly, I find it hard to even write it down without wincing - how do you say this out loud? Romanée-St-Vivant, Grands-Échézeaux, Échézeaux, Corton, La Tâche - all from DRC. Plus, a Bâtard-Montrachet 1988 from Ramonet, and an Egly-Ouriet 2012 to kick things off. When I first saw the list, I could hardly believe it; it felt like a joke or a ghostly message from a better version of reality.

This was not merely a tasting of expensive wines - it was an experience steeped in myth. Such wines are usually discussed in dusty forum posts or reminisced about by a fortunate few who were present. Yet here it was, right in my glass - not just to taste, but to truly try to understand.

It wasn't about the labels; it was about the stories each wine had to tell. Each one spoke in its own voice - quietly, stubbornly, sometimes echoing memories of the past. These wines had endured decades, styles, and philosophies, yet were held together by one undeniable truth: there's something in wine that doesn't age. And even if all of this may seem excessive or beyond our reach, being in its presence still matters. It reminds us of the high standards the world can hold. Sip.

Egly-Ouriet Extra Brut Grand Cru 2012

Region
France » Champagne » Champagne AOC » Montagne de Reims
Type
white traditional sparkling, extra brut
Producer

Egly-Ouriet

Vintage
2012
Disgorged
2022-04
On lees
105 months
Grapes
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
Alcohol
12.5
Sugar
1
Volume
750 mL
Egly-Ouriet Extra Brut Grand Cru 2012

This wine secured the 🥇 1st place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.9

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.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 2020

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Nuits » Flagey-Echezeaux » Échezeaux AOC
Type
red still, dry
Vintage
2020
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.5
Sugar
0.5
Volume
750 mL
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 2020

This wine secured the 🏅 4th place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.5

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.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Grand Cru 2017

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Beaune » Corton AOC
Type
red still, dry
Vintage
2017
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13
Sugar
1
Volume
750 mL
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Grand Cru 2017

This wine secured the 🏅 6th place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.6

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.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2021

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Nuits » Vosne-Romanée » Romanée-Saint-Vivant AOC
Type
red still, dry
Vintage
2021
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.5
Sugar
0.5
Volume
750 mL
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2021

This wine secured the 🥈 2nd place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.8

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.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru 2014

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Nuits » Flagey-Echezeaux » Grands Échezeaux AOC
Type
red still, dry
Vintage
2014
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13
Sugar
1
Volume
750 mL
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru 2014

This wine secured the 🥉 3rd place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.6

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.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 1986

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Nuits » Vosne-Romanée » La Tâche AOC
Type
red still, dry
Vintage
1986
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13
Volume
750 mL
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 1986

This wine secured the 🏅 7th place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.2

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.

Domaine Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 1988

Region
France » Burgundy » Côte d'Or » Côte de Beaune » Bâtard-Montrachet AOC
Type
white still, dry
Vintage
1988
Grapes
Chardonnay
Alcohol
13.5
Volume
750 mL
Domaine Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 1988

This wine secured the 🏅 5th place in our wine tasting lineup.

4.8

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.

Raw scores

WineMax DBoris BOleksandr ATetiana ASerhiiMarynaOleksandrDenys ShSerhii L
4.704.904.604.604.705.004.504.704.70
4.504.504.604.704.704.704.704.704.60
4.404.604.604.604.604.404.604.604.70
4.704.804.804.704.704.704.704.704.80
4.604.604.904.804.804.804.004.904.80
4.304.204.804.904.604.204.004.504.40
4.404.804.504.404.804.404.504.504.60

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