2009 Echezeaux Grand Cru 0,75l Jean Grivot

The 2009 Echezeaux is pure silk. Black cherries, spices, licorice and tar are all woven together in a fabric of nearly indescribable elegance. All the elements fall into place as the Echezeaux captivates both the intellectual and hedonistic senses. This is a wine that impresses for its understated elegance. Readers won’t fine the drive of the Clos de Vougeot or the structure of the Richebourg. Instead, the Echezeaux possesses stunning textural finesse and phenomenal balance. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Etienne Grivot’s 2009s were some of the most exciting wines I tasted on my most recent trip to Burgundy. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Good deep, bright red. Very reduced nose is currently blocking the wine's primary fruits. Fatter but initially less sweet than the Clos de Vouget, with a bit of leathery funk to its dark berry, earth and iodine flavors. Began quite unforthcoming if rather suave, but gained significantly in sweetness and thickness with aeration. This will need at least seven or eight years of bottle aging or a lot of time in a decanter. Grivot believes that the very dense cork he used to seal this wine is largely responsible for its reductive character.

An exuberantly spicy nose of wonderfully seductive black fruit liqueur aromas leads to rich, suave, pure and dense flavors that are a highly beguiling blend of finesse and power, all wrapped in a robust yet finely detailed finish of stunning length. This is one of the very best examples of the appellation in 2009. Drink: 2024+