Echezeaux Grand Cru - Pinot Noir (21) BG

Pinot Noir | 3 wijngaarden | 0,21 ha Grand Cru | terroir van klei en kalk | aangeplant in 1934 | 60% hele trossen | koude inweking en vergisting in staaltank | 1-2x per dag remontage | rijping voor 15 maanden in barrique (0-30% nieuw) | 2,5 vaten gemaakt | chique parfum | floraal | bessen | gekruid | iets aards | diep | stenig | beetje pure chocolade | fijne zuren | rondeur | elegante klassieke kracht

Amelie Berthaut

Een van de nieuwe sterren in de Franse Bourgogne is Amelie Berthaut. Na de samensmelting van twee familie Domaines (Berthaut, Fixin & Gerbet, Vosne-Romanée) heeft Amelie maar liefst zestien hectare wijngaard in haar bezit met de volledige focus op Pinot Noir! Ze maakt een heerlijk volle en rijke stijl Pinot met diepgang en intensiteit. 

Review

The 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru contains 60% whole bunches. It comes from three plots that, still, only made two and a half barrels this year. It has a very well defined bouquet that seems to blossom in the glass, although it will need some time for the stems to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very peppery in style with touches of white pepper and bay leaf towards the persistent finish. This is a classy wine, one that is not unlike Dujac’s Echézeaux! 95/100 Neal Martin

The 2020 Echézeaux Grand Cru has turned out beautifully, delivering a complex bouquet of sweet berries and cherries mingled with notions of orange zest, rose petals, warm spices and violets. Full-bodied, supple and seamless, with lively acids and sweet structuring tannins, it concludes with a long, expansive finish. 94/100 William Kelley

The 2021 Echézeaux Grand Cru is very charming, bursting with scents of orange rind, smoky berries, spices and sweet soil tones. Medium to full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with supple tannins, ripe acids and an expansive finish, it will offer a long drinking window. 93/100

You could say that Amélie Berthaut-Gerbet has a lot on her hands at the moment. Apart from running Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, essentially a blend of two domaines after holdings from the maternal side of her family were augmented 3-4 years ago, she has overseen the renovation of the winery in Fixin. And apart from being the poster child for the Fixin appellation, an emblem of what it can achieve in the right hands, she’s also a new mother. Thankfully her husband, Nicolas Faure, helps out in the vineyard alongside his own parcels that readers can find in this report. I found her in good spirits, equable as ever.