2005 Echezeaux

Good bright ruby-red. High-pitched aromas of black fruits, violet, spicy oak and minerals. Dense, sappy and strong, with a perfumed quality to its sharply delineated, very primary flavors. An Echezeaux with uncommon power and thrust. One of the most promising young wines I've ever tasted at this address.

Gilles Jayer’s 2005 Echezeaux du Dessus is so- labeled (with “du Dessus” in smaller print) to call attention to the prime portion of this too-large grand cru in which it originates. After the virtual attack mounted on the senses by this year’s Les Damodes, we now have something a bit more sedate and sorted-out. A flamboyant aroma of black raspberry confiture, creme de cassis, coconut, clove, nutmeg, star anise and roasted meats leads to a clear, sweetly-fruited, smoke-tinged palate and a finish that reverberates with low-toned stony mineral notes and pure peals of gloriously ripe yet brightly ringing fruit. Two thousand five has been a year to witness some amazing successes from those portions of Echezeaux that nature designed for great Pinot potential, but the quality from Jayer-Gilles and his vines has seldom been less than outstanding year after year. Wine Advocate.June, 2007