2011 Echezeaux

The 2011 Echezeaux is better than the Clos Vougeot. It has a much more refined, pixilated nose that is so sensual and pure. The palate has a fine grainy structure on the entry, well-judged acidity, impressive weight with joyful, vivacious notes of raspberry coulis and dark cherries. Then there is a saline touch on the finish that leaves the mouth itching to take another sip. This is a divine wine that deserves two or three years in bottle. Drink 2015-2025. I remember first meeting Jean-Marie Fourrier in London back at a time when he was establishing a presence in the UK market. Back then, his wines enjoyed more cultish popularity, that being at a time when Burgundy was the preserve of aficionados. Things have changed. Fourrier is now one of the most respected names in Gevrey, even if, perversely, he remains relatively unknown in his homeland. And Jean-Marie has not changed in all the years that I have known him. He is passionate, candid, principled, witty and born with a convenient knack of creating elegant Pinot Noirs that in 2011 have been augmented by two negociant offerings. Jean-Marie was at pains to explain that this expansion is simply because it is too expensive to buy vineyard nowadays and it does not represent a change in direction. His wines bear a whiff of semblance of Henri Jayer for whom Jean-Marie did a stage back in 1988, the fruit almost entirely de-stemmed and aged prudently in a modest percentage of new oak. With respect to the 2011s, I questioned him about the ripeness level and whether he felt there were incidences of greenness. He explained that there was the constant pressure of mildew, but that those with adequate, healthy green foliage were able to exploit the final three weeks of warm weather at the end of what had been a cool summer, offering the step to phenolic maturity. As previously mentioned, there are two negociant wines to finish off. Jean-Marie’s team goes into the vineyard to undertake the picking and he emphasized: “I buy grapes, not wine” and only from those who bottle themselves and want to reduce their quantity. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

A softly spicy nose requires aggressive swirling to coax the red and black pinot fruit and subtle earth scents to reveal themselves. The earth character continues onto the round yet quite powerful middle weight plus flavors that possess good detail and moderately good depth and length in the context of the appellation. This should benefit handsomely from a decade long cellar snooze. Tasted: Jan 14, 2013. Drink: 2021+