.png)
I remember when I got my first gig at a wine shop in my hometown. The work was difficult sometimes, carrying expensive cases up and down the narrow stairs to the cellar, but at the end of the day, I would usually get take two or more tasting bottles home so I could better assist customers in identifying their tastes. Usually my samples were nothing too expensive, but generally well regarded mid-tier bottles that the store was considering bringing on from distributors as we cycled through inventory.
One particular particular Thursday, my boss sent me home with a half-case of open wines: two roses, three reds, and a white. I hadn’t looked in the case until I got home, and I was so tired from the work day, all I wanted to do was go to bed. Reluctantly, I retrieved my tasting book, a pen, a loaf of bread; and some water, and settled down at the kitchen counter to begin the beguine.
I removed the bottles from the carrier, and organized them light to dark, when I noticed the word Echézeaux, on a purple-clad bottle. My attitude lightened immediately, needless to say. For those unfamiliar; Echézeaux is a Grand Cru climat in the Côte D’Or, nestled between Clos de Vougeot, and Vosne-Romanée. It is technically a vineyard located within the town of Flagey-Echézeaux, but in regards to its AOC, it is listed among the fine vineyards of Vosne-Romanée.
Echézeaux is made up of eleven lieux-dits, all of very similar reputation, and quality. A lieu dit differs from a climat, in that a lieu dit is a small parcel of land separate from the amalgamated climat that is government delineated by said place. A climat is a less formal historical designation awarded to a vineyard of noteworthiness.
The Eleven Lieu dit of Echézeaux are En Orveaux, Les Champs Traversins, Les Rouges du Bas, Les Beaux-Monts Bas, Les Cruots, Les Loachausses, Echezéaux du Dessus, Les Poulaillères, Clos St. Denis, Les Treux, and Les Quartiers de Nuits. What makes this small commune so incredible with regards to value, is its overall size, and thus, production capacity. That may sound counter intuitive, but it's what makes this grand cru cheaper than the others that share the Vosne appellation.
It's located on the Route des Grands Crus as the road dissipates into the one-lane adjunct found meandering inconspicuously into the north of the town of Nuits St. Georges a few miles away. In between Nuits-St.-Georges and Vougeot, you can find climat of varying sizes, but the Echézeaux climat takes up around half the space on the map, and is considered just one Grand Cru. Plots like La Tâche, and La Grande Rue of Vosne-Romanée, are laughable when compared with the size of the smallest of Echézeaux's lieux-dits, Les Quartiers de Nuits.
Despite its size, Echézeaux tends to be relatively more consistent than the comparable huge grand cru plot of Vougeot, due to its relatively level terroir - as opposed to its northerly neighbor which is directly in the combe. The southern embankment of the combe which runs into the town of Vougeot, gives Echézeaux more of an eastern aspect, allowing for more sunlight during the warmer afternoons, heating the plot more than its neighbors to the north and south, and keeping sediment and water from being dispossesed up onto its grounds.
That is why you'll almost never get an inky, unbalanced Echézeaux, and why it falls into a comforably recognized status of Grand Cru, where quality can put some climat up for debate in villages like Gevrey-Chambertin. The respect earned due to notable consistency, is not to say that the lieux-dits don’t vary between eachother, especially vintage-over-vintage - like any Burgundy plot, producer matters most, and different producers will have access to different lieu dits.
Perhaps the best known lieu-dit is, “En Orveaux,” which coincidentally is nestled beside its very stylistically similar Vosne climat. The vineyards in this area boast racy, but feminine flavors of game, mushroom, and slate, flanked by overtones of cranberry, and stewed strawberry. This is is the coldest area due to the amount of sunlight it sees, and also has slightly thiner soils, a trait thought to be associated with higher quality grand cru. Generally, the further towards the bottom of the Côte you go, the more the marl becomes a thick clay, less good for drainage and sharp acidity.
The wine I’d had the pleasure of tasting on that night long ago, was Dominique Mugneret, Echezeaux Grand Cru, “En Orveaux” 2009, now a very highly regarded wine, and even more desirable vintage. Mugneret is an organic label producer, and the wine reflected a strong attention to detail. To this date I can think of only a few other bottles I’d had that I enjoyed more.
It was chalky, gamey, rustic; but shrill, soft, rich, and aged perfectly with incredible balance, and fervor. The acidity was stony and cut-through, but there was so much under-palette complexity that I really couldn’t pick out whether the fruit, or racy flavors were commanding the attention of the tongue, and driving the glass. Mercifully, the flavors lasted on the palette for an unimaginable amount of time, as the finish was smooth, and slow.
Another smashing climat that often comes up in the conversation about this fabulous village of Vosne-Romanée is Grands-Echézeaux. “Grands,” does not indicate a higher quality that any other lieu dit, but simply indicates a geographical region within the commune of Echézeaux. It is supposedly aptly-named due to its much longer unbroken rows of vines.
Wines here, though closer to Clos de Vougeot than other climat, are far less Vosne-like than other parts of the region. One thing I look for in Grands-Echézeaux, especially when aged properly, is a roasted pumpkin seed aroma, or even a bit of clove. These bolder tangential and savory flavors are due to more highly varied terrain, and are comparable to the bold flavors that I expect of Clos. My favorite aspect of Echézeaux, is that it consistently tents to be one of the earthier Burgundies and far less fruit-forward. If you are like me, and enjoy wines that have a lot to say, this grand cru could turn out to be one of your favorites if you’ve never had the pleasure of picking up a bottle.
If you’re adventurous, see your shop for a bottle of Mongeard-Mugneret’s lovely lieu-dit blend called, “La Grande Complication.” Seek out either the 2013, or 2015 vintage. These are the highest regarded along with the baby 2018, though its tough to find bad GC from 2018, and should be on the precipice of drinkability within the next few years. If you can pay a little more, 2009 should be ready now, and not a minute sooner. The 2009 is complex, rich, ruby colored, and a masterpiece of rustic not bretty flavor and lush cool tannins that dance over your tongue like a red ribbon. Truffles, dirt, violet, chocolate, bark, nettles, and fresh raspberry are all present flavors in this masterpiece.
One other suggestion is the fantastic Dom. Coquard Loison-Fleurot Echézeaux 2015. This wine is richer and soupier, as is common with 2015 Burgundy, but also no less complex or interesting than either of the other two bottles listed, though perhaps a bit more straight forward. This is not a monopole wine, so no lieu-dit on the label, though that should never discount a wine from one of the most well regarded Climat in the world.
This wine opens with stewed strawberry, so if you like a more fruit-forward pinot, than this is your guy; It then envelops the tongue in chocolate, smoked brisket, roasted cashew, and flint. The tannin is complimentary of this wine and the finish is long and brassy on the palette. There is even a hint of white tea on the nose, so look out for that.
All of the full tasting notes for these wines are uploaded on the tasting page, along with a lot of other Echézeaux. This being one of my favorite wines in the world, I can gladly say, I will not deprive anyone of info about them.
That’s all,
~K