There is real depth on the nose – like the Gaudichots. More tannin providing extra texture, but there is a more open display of flavour over the palate. Showing much better than any of the Vosne Crus.
Comments for this entry
Echézeaux
2005 Rodet Antonin Echézeaux
2005 Romanée-Conti Echézeaux
A heavy nose of ample cream-edged fruit and new oak melds well with a fairly forward smoky, stemmy note. The plate lacks for a little poise with a ‘whoosh’ of fruit that is admittedly borne on lovely acidity. There’s plenty of oak on the finish too – though it’s a long finish. The scent clings well to the glass. Overall the aromatics, and to a certain extent the flavours too, are rather sweet, facile and vanilla-oak edged – indeed the ripeness is not even shaded by Romanée-Conti – but it’s characterful and quite athletic too. Needs 2-4 years to shed that facile, oak-influenced character but this has all the material to become really super.
2005 Guyon Echézeaux
2005 Clos Frantin Echézeaux
Medium, medium-plus cherry red. A wide and rather subtle nose showing hints of earth. The palate is lithe and a little tannic. Good acidity and superbly wide, creamy complex flavours that go on and on. This does not have the density of the wines that follow but it’s a marvel in a glass and highly recommended!
2003 Guyon Echézeaux
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The wide nose showcases well delineated soft red fruit and a little coffee too. High-toned fruit in the mouth that is both concentrated and bursts into life on the mid-palate. There is some astringency to the tannin but the combined sweetness of the fruit and the considerable spicy oak means that it’s not overpowering in the finish which also shows plenty of cream and just a touch of espresso. In quality terms this wine is quite close to the previous wine, just a little shorter and less precise – mainly due to the layer of sweet oak which I don’t find ‘additive’.
2004 Mugneret-Gibourg Georges Echézeaux
Medium-plus cherry red colour. The nose shouts red berries, starting in a very soft, powdery red fruit way. Time adds faint cedar and a kind of wet-metal note. Very understated entry, instantly giving the impression of a nice ride along the acidity before moving into a very, very long finish – that was impressive! The mid-palate has a small burst of interest, but this wine remains very understated – not aloof – just very understated and very well made.
2004 Romanée-Conti Echézeaux
Yield 26.5 hl/ha – or 1,267 cases. Medium cherry-red colour. Soft aromas of vanilla support high-toned young but quite elegant notes and subtle stems – slowly it is cherry fruit that starts to underpin everything. The palate mirrors the elegant profile of the nose – there are no fireworks, just a sneaky, undemonstrative length. Elegant, subtle, long reflective wine.
2001 Bouchard Père et Fils Echézeaux
Medium cherry-red. The nose starts impressively deep, aspects of soil and spicy, macerating black cherries – a good start – after an hour it settles into a spicy compote of cherry/plum fruit. The palate is fresh, reasonably textured and has a medium-plus finish. The fruit is clear and crisp, though not really of (very good) grand cru quality. So, a very tasty, indeed lovely wine, but I’d expect the palate to show just a little more to justify the label.