2012 Echezeaux
Buying options
Tasting notes
Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Echézeaux Grand Cru from Etienne Grivot has an engaging, well defined bouquet with dusky black fruit, hints of white fennel and Provençal herbs - complex, the kind of nose you just want to keep on nosing! The palate is medium-bodied with crisp black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, a little hardness on the entry although that should soften with time. It is a compact Echézeaux, yet one that is well balanced and one that should repay long-term cellaring. Expect this to blossom in the future.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Bright dark red. Aromas of musky raspberry, rose petal and coffee. Sappy, precise and deep, showing outstanding cut and lift to its flavors of crushed red raspberry and dried flowers. Like the Clos Vougeot this conveys an impression of great vivacity, but this one is in a more feminine, weightless style. The whiplash of a finish, which features noble tannins, leaves the palate vibrating with flavors of red licorice, wild herbs, mint and smoky minerality. "The tiny crop levels of the last few years have made a huge difference," noted Etienne Grivot at this point in our tasting.
Fragrant, elegant nose then rather light and unassuming on the palate. Lovely typical red fruit, but seems lacking in enough substance and complexity – a slow burner? (RH)
Bright, deep red. Knockout nose combines red berries, coffee, tobacco, crushed rock, smoke, flowers and minerals. Like liquid silk on the palate, delivering an uncanny combination of seamlessness and verve. Compellingly sappy wine with a strong note of purple flowers. With its superb juicy thrust, this really titillates the salivary glands. The Clos Vougeot is more minerally and taut, while this is more sensual and refined.
About the producer
A benchmark name in Vosne-Romanée, Domaine Jean Grivot is one of Burgundy’s most respected estates. They have an impressive array of vineyards, including plots in Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot, Echezeaux and Richebourg.