2015 Grands Echezeaux

Full deep red. Musky dark raspberry, espresso and dark chocolate on the nose, complemented by an element of graphite minerality. Tighter by far than the Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Boudots but with no hardness to its berry and mineral flavors; in fact, this classy wine is downright velvety with some aeration. Finishes firm, penetrating and very long, with excellent precision and lift. This should evolve slowly and gracefully.

Full medium red. Perfumed nose offers scents of black cherry, licorice, cocoa powder and minerals. Less demonstrative and crunchy in the early going than the Echézeaux but still with terrific energy and density to the flavors of red berries, roast coffee, mocha and chocolate. Shows its great class with its refined tannins and outstanding lingering sweetness. This really resounds on the finish.

The 2015 Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru is matured entirely in new oak and unlike the Echezeaux, it was completely de-stemmed. It has a precise bouquet with expressive red berry fruit, cranberry, wild strawberry and pomegranate, though these are complemented by dark, blacker fruit with time in the glass. There is very good terroir expression here with undergrowth and damp moss-like aromas developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit and a pinch of sea salt that gets the saliva flowing. There is exquisite balance here, very fine tannins and much more sophistication towards the finish compared to the Echezeaux. It is a brilliant, intellectual wine from Maxime Chuerling, but it will require 5-7 years in the cellar before it reaches full flight. Dec 2016, www.robertparker.com