Laurent's three barrels of 2006 Grands Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes - two others were sacrificed in the interest of raising the quality both of this wine and of the Echezeaux into which it was blended - originates in a parcel whose vines date to 1926 and another whose wine he only recently acquired and that he says were planted by a cousin of the first proprietor two years later. "These vines" he asserts "are as close as is possible to the mother chalk" at the narrow northern tip of the appellation. Incidentally this was the wine Laurent chose to show last in presenting his collection. Cherry and black raspberry with their spirituous Doppelganger; forest floor you could measure in acres; a field of violets; and enough roasted game to do a Medieval banquet proud combine for an aromatic display of remarkable depth and intensity. On a palate of incredible textural richness liqueur-like black fruits; palpably dense chalkiness; demiglace of myriad meats; and mysterious notes of decadent wood and forest creatures pick up further complexity (as if this weren't over-kill!) from toasted pralines brown spices and dark chocolate. This finishes like a tidal wave moving across the palate with sinister reverberation yet for all of its viscosity density and power if leaves behind a feeling and flavors as uplifting as they are ultimately ineffable. I would be thrilled to follow wherever it led for the next 20 years. --- David Schildknecht