It’s not every day you get to taste more than 2 or 3 grand crus together, certainly not grand crus from Vosne-Romanée – okay, from Flagey-Echézeaux!
This was an important tasting for me, because versus ‘the average,’ my tastings in November and December indicated that Echézeaux was one of the sweet spots for quality in what is an otherwise delicious but often lightweight vintage – clearly I’m anticipating many great wines – let’s see.
The wines…
28 wines tasted – though a couple were the ‘grander’ version of Echézeaux. Only a couple were really troubled by reduction. A couple more were truly awful – and the rest were excellent, or close-to. There are quite a number here (8, highlighted) that I would recommend unreservedly – even from the 2017 vintage!
These wines were all tasted in the Clos de Vougeot in March 2019, and tasted in the order listed. Enjoy:
This a sample from tank.
Deep, spicy, oaked wine – is the first aromatic impression. Hmm, there’s depth of flavour here though – layered, concentrated, oaky, but delicious wine. There’s also a lovely cushioned depth to the texture and its associated flavour. This is really great – but if your tastes are like mine, you are going to have to wait for that oak to fade!
2017 Michel Noellat, Echézeaux
Bottled 2 weeks.
A more directly floral note – pretty, if narrow. More structural in the mouth, with nice energy, layers of flavour and certainly a wine of fine complexity. Not a big wine, but one with lots of dimensions to its flavour and still showing a little oak in the finish. Very good.
2017 Georges Noellat, Echézeaux
This sampled from barrel.
A little lighter colour. A deep nose though; creamy, and there’s a beacon of fine fruit too – ooh that’s super! Ultra-silky texture, layered, quite oaky in a creamy style, nice concentration. A little finishing vibration of flavour which, whilst oaky, is very endearing. Excellent!
Will be bottled in April, it’s currently assembled in tank.
Hmm. This is an open nose that’s very fine – it’s slightly floral perfumed too. In the mouth an Echézeaux of absolute finesse if not absolute weight. Complex, almost mineral. Ooh, that’s so good! Bravo – not the most concentrated for sure but brilliant all the same.
This will be bottled in a week.
A big, wide, impressive nose. Some high tones. Bright, fresh and energetic in the mouth. Not the ultra-finest of textures but one of the best complexities and it’s showing wonderful mid-palate energy. Really great wine.
Hmm, a big toasty oak aroma – that’s the main characteristic here. A wine that’s big in the mouth – complex and energetic too – oaky but oh-so good! Wow here, despite the oak – really wow!
2017 Mongeard-Mugneret, Grands-Echézeaux
Thought I’d try to ‘slip’ something ‘grander’ in…
Direct, quite an intense aroma, and less overtly oaked. There’s plenty of structure, the wine less overtly lovely in the first flavours, but showing a blend of energy with a depth of great flavour thereafter. A super wine.
2017 Cécile Tremblay, Echézeaux
Hmm – a complex, wide, modestly deep nose. A wine slips unobtrusively into the mouth, but grows and grows with complexity. Open, delicious wine, that fades more quickly than I want – so I must take another sip because it tastes so good!
2017 Capitain Gagnerot, Echézeaux En Orveaux
Bottled in November.
Quite a reductive nose. The reduction is on the palate too – but the shape, concentration, complexity and energy are first class here. Long and fine finishing flavour too. Not showing well today, but surely excellent wine with time.
2017 Roblot-Marchand, Echézeaux Vieilles-Vignes
Bottled.
A nice saline freshness to this nose. Mouth-filling wine that’s complex, showing good energy and plenty of structure. A good wine!
2017 Daniel Rion, Echézeaux
Bottled last month.
A deep, wide, toasty oak nose – there’s a certain attractive sweetness to this oak – no doubt – but more interesting, if you work the glass there’s a fine perfume that develops. Lots of mouth-filling volume, fine texture and lots of flavour dimension. Holding long. Oaky, but excellent Echézeaux.
Bottling will be in April
Hmm, that’s a good nose! Fresh, complex, with lovely perfume, not a big nose, but one that’s offering a big invitation. Direct, complex, energetic – ooh- just a brilliant wine. Bravo! Oak in the finish today, but a wine with fabulous texture. Perhaps my favourite of the whole tasting!
2017 Louis Jadot, Echézeaux
Bottling planned for June
This nose is a little reductive – and oaked – but also gives an impression of silk. Hmm – big wine in the mouth, supple, concentrated, really a weight of flavour that few other wines display. A certain compact impression to the flavour though – today – but there is much to look forward to, I’m sure…
2017 Jean-Pierre Guyon, Echézeaux
Bottled 1 week.
A high-toned, spiced aroma that’s really attractive. Ooh – a wine of super texture that swooshes you along with complex, concentrated but alive and completely delicious flavour. Bravo. A super wine with a seriously great finish!
Fine fresh, high toned flowers and fruit – a lovely nose. Here is a wine of drive and intensity, with fresh fruit and a floral perfume too. Great weight of mid-palate flavour. This is top-drawer. Bravo!
2017 Jean Grivot, Echézeaux
Bottled a couple of months.
Quite a compact nose. Nice in the mouth, the flavour growing and growing – the mid-palate and finish are really fine. Discreet on the nose and to start, but a wine that finishes very well.
2017 Gros Frère et Soeur, Echézeaux
An aroma that’s a sort of woody reduction – it’s not an invitation. In the mouth it’s not too bad – there’s concentration and good texture. A nice energy but the flavour, like the nose, is far from flattering. Easily the worst showing wine of the tasting.
2017 Gros Frère et Soeur, Grands-Echézeaux
Tasted out of hope, but to no avail…
This nose is not really better/different to their Echézeaux. In the mouth this is more direct, fresh and interesting on the palate but the middle has a muddled, simmering, muddy style to the fruit. Not my thing…
2017 Regis Forey, Echézeaux
Bottled
Some high tones, but here’s another quite compact nose. Big in the mouth, this is a structural wine, one with plenty of dimension and structure. A wine certainly to wait for, but with anticipation – it will be super.
2017 Coudray-Bizot, Echézeaux En Orveaux
Not yet bottled.
Ooh that’s a reductive nose – but here is some vibrance of aroma with swirling. Nice shape, texture and weight, but that reductive note is also spoiling the flavour today – like with the Capitain Gagnerot. There’s time, it’s not yet ready for bottling – clearly!
2017 Confuron-Gindre, Echézeaux
Bottling will be in a couple of months, this is still in barrel
That’s a rather nice and fresh width of aroma. Direct, growing in intensity, widening in the middle, delivering good finishing freshness and complexity. This is lovely, with much to look forward to…
Bottled about 3 weeks
Here’s a modest bready reduction in the aroma, swirling cleans things up – a lot – clean, fresh, some herb but complex and high toned. Ooh – great in the mouth – volume, concentration, freshness too. A wine of sweeping lines and beautiful texture. Bravo – but the first nose needs to improve!
2017 Clair-Naudin, Echézeaux
This will be bottled in two weeks – it’s currently assembled.
Plenty of freshness and high tones in what is otherwise a narrow but quite deep nose. Ooh, lovely in the mouth – volume, concentration, even a touch of salinty in the impressive complexity- not many of these show that. I think excellent!
A relatively discreet nose but one of fine purity and complexity – a fine invitation indeed. Cool, concentrated, vibrant flavour. Not the most intense, but one of the most complex – really a gorgeous thing – bravo!
2017 Arnoux-Lachaux, Echézeaux
Bottled in December.
Hmm, a pungently impressive aromatic complexity here. Round, not so large, but complex with a fine rose perfume in the flavour. A subtle, delicate but delicious wine.
2017 Lamarche, Echézeaux
Quite a modest nose again. Supple, concentrated, lots of dimension to this flavour – and lots of lovely complexity. A wine that starts modestly but finishes with real class.
2017 Jacques Cacheux, Echézeaux
Assembled for an April bottling.
Wide and concentrated aromas – becoming more airy with swirling. Hmm, lots of energy, a wine of drive and energy rather than width. A fine rendition.
2017 Philippe Charlopin, Echézeaux
For bottling end of March.
There’s a little oak padding here, but this is more a wine with the spiced aroma of Vosne. Beautifully proportioned, concentrated too. There’s a little of oak of-course but really it’s a wine in a style that’s rather generous and forgiving of the barrel references. Very good.