2017 Henri Lamarche - Grands-Echezeaux

Here the wood influence is a bit more prominent and includes a whiff of menthol though both are sufficiently subtle to easily allow the overtly floral and spice-inflected aromas of various red fruit scents to be appreciated. While the mid-palate of the broad-scaled flavors is solidly concentrated but relatively supple, the powerful, intense and very firmly structured finish is quite tightly wound. This is also presently austere and robust and I would advise not touching a bottle for at least 10 years and it won’t surprise me if 20 years is necessary to for this to realize its full potential.

The 2017 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru comes from 0.30 hectares of vine. It has a tightly wound bouquet at first – one of the few crus from Lamarche to demand coaxing from the glass. It eventually reveals some lovely raspberry preserve, wild strawberry and subtle Seville orange marmalade scents, all very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, and more structure and backbone than the Echézeaux, leading to a fresh and quite saline finish. This will need five or six years.