2014 Echezeaux

(from the lieu-dit En Orveaux; just 28 hectoliters per hectare produced): Dark, bright red. Captivating aromas of cherry, red berries and dried flowers are accented by topnotes of white pepper and high-pitched spices. Juicy, spicy, penetrating and dry, with a floral light touch and terrific energy giving its tactile fruit a distinctly sappy character. Finishes with suave, fine-grained tannins and excellent glistening, rising length. Incidentally, these vines were 80% frosted in 2016, according to Mallard.

(from the Combe d'Orveau, a relatively cold terroir ): Dark red with ruby highlights. Brambly aromas of redcurrant, plum, spices and smoky, rocky minerality, lifted by alluring floral perfume. Round, silky and sweet, offering good density to the red fruit and spice flavors. Still a bit youthfully compact but fine-grained, this very fresh wine boasts a horizontal, slowly building finish featuring ripe, even tannins.

The 2014 Echézeaux Grand Cru, like the Brûlée, was quite closed on the nose when I tasted it. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, slightly chewy tannin at the moment. This feels quite masculine, with a strong tannic backbone, nicely focused but in need of some serious bottle age. It needs to lighten up a little, stretch its wings and breathe.