2019 Domaine G. Roumier Échezeaux Grand Cru

Roumier produced a barrel and a half of the 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru, a full-bodied, velvety and enveloping wine evocative of smoky berry fruit and plums, mingled with spices and blood orange. Rich and charming, it's the finest rendition of this new cuvée to date.

The 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru, the fourth "edition" since the commencement of the shared métayage , comprises one new and one used half-barrel this year. It includes 80% whole bunch, and that sways the nose, imparting an attractive cracked black pepper note interwoven into the black and blueberry fruit; violet flower emerges with aeration. The palate is beautifully balanced, the crunchy black fruit laced with freshly rolled tobacco, and quite mineral-driven toward the end, displaying more freshness and tension than I noticed in the previous vintage. Roumier said that this is his best Echézeaux so far. I agree.