Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Gambal has three barrels (one new) – from vines planted in 1945 in the prime, “du Dessus”sector – of 2005 Echezeaux. Scents of candied raspberries and strawberries, horehound, and tar segue into a palate of intensely ripe berry fruit, raw meat, charred wood smokiness, and a glossy, glycerin-rich feel to help ameliorate its ample tannins. This rich, sultry (newly-bottled) wine preserves invigorating fresh fruit acids and possesses a firm, fine-grained structure, both typical of the vintage at its best.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Claiming the two famous Grand Crus, Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux, the identity of this village, Flagey-Echezeaux, rides predominantly on the glory of those two crus. All of the village or Premier Cru status vineyards in Flagey-Echezeaux market themselves under the name of their neighbor, Vosne-Romanée.
Echezeaux Pinot noir tends be light, bright and full of finesse, whereas those of Grands Echezeaux typically have more heft and complexity.