2008 Echezeaux Les Treux Vieilles Vignes

Tardy’s 2008 Echezeaux Les Treux Vieilles Vignes displays a wealth of fresh cassis and blackberry; brown spices; and red meat juices. Black pepper, salt, and chalk inflections add interest on a dense yet buoyant palate, and the tannins that Tardy claims are always more forward in this site than any of his others are in my estimation no impediment to a long, expressive, downright refreshing finish, and are really part of an impressively tightly-woven grain. This is quintessentially 2008 in its vibrancy and cut, and I would look forward to following it for 12-15 years. Young Guillaume Tardy took the reins from his father Jean in 2003, and beginning with the 2008 vintage has had to cede back to Meo-Camuzet the 50% share of fruit they long-retained for farming prime parcels in Nuits Boudots, adjacent Vosne Chaumes, and Clos Vougeot. While de-stemming entirely, Tardy is able to still retain a significant share of un-ruptured berries in the fermentor. Among his other habits intended to emphasize purity of fruit are absence or racking and bottling in December or January (although tardy malos resulted in the 2008s being bottled a bit later). I was especially surprised – as my scores suggest – to have found the 2007 vintage here so evenly-matched in quality with 2008, which Guillaume Tardy said was the more difficult of the two for him. A Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011- 333-80-24-29-70

75-year-old vines and 100% new oak. Very much deeper colour, and bluer, than the Au Bas de Combe. Dense and rich but a bit raw too. I think the simpler wine is a much, much better buy. This is ambitious and it may well get there but it’s pretty awkward at the moment. Very dry finish. (JR)