Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rich and succulent, offering cherry, raspberry, floral and spice aromas and flavors. Stylish, picking up a mineral element as this winds down on the long aftertaste. Fine balance. Best from 2018 through 2032. 50 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Echézeaux Grand Cru, which is matured in 50% new oak, has a tightly wound but nicely defined, very focused bouquet that has fine underlying minerality. The palate is well defined with fine tannins, hints of vanilla and dark chocolate infusing the red berry fruit with quite a commercial, but undeniably sensual, finish. This should give much pleasure over the next 10-15 years. Range: 89-91
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.