1995 Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes

Mongeard's Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes is produced from two old vine parcels, one planted in 1927 and the other in 1929. Medium-to-dark ruby-colored, the old vine intensity can easily be discerned in its deeply powerful, black cherry-filled aromas and thick-textured, chewy personality. Packed with flavors of black raspberries and ripe red cherries, this wine has superb structure and length. It will be at its best between 2003-2012. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. Mongeard believes the 1995 vintage is better than 1990, and said it reminded him of 1985 but with more structure. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Chester, VT; tel. (802) 875-2139.