2005 Maison Nicolas Potel Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru

Much more restrained today than his Echezeaux, Potel’s 2005 Grands-Echezeaux offers a nose of black tea and pepper, bitter-sweet florals, and ripe black cherry. Juicy and invigorating in the mouth with its abundance of ripe black fruits and underlain by saline, meat broth character, this proves inexplicably dry in tannin and faintly warm (both traits feeding an impression of citrus oil). Still, the finish is admirably long and perhaps the bit of roughness and heat are passing phases. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700.