Echezeaux 2003

Deep red-ruby. Musky aromas of dark raspberry, chocolate and underbrush, along with an exotic floral quality. Large-scaled, concentrated and round, with impressive volume. Slightly roasted flavors of currant, chocolate, tobacco and underbrush. Finishes with substantial fine tannins and a sense of solidity. This should offer early appeal. 90 points

Score: 90

Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar 01 March 2006

Note: approximately 45 year old vines from 2 different climats, 90% of which is in Les Poulaillères and the other 10% is in Clos St. Denis; there was a lot of replanting done here in the decades of the sixties and seventies - from yields of 18 hl/ha Producer note: Co-director Aubert de Villaine described 2003 as a vintage that "gave us really superb raw materials but at the cost of fully 45 to 50% of our normal production. The average yield across all of our reds was only 16.6 hl/ha. After a tumultuous growing season that saw everything from killing frosts to killing heat, we began the harvest on August 25th and harvested until September 1st. What I thought was interesting about the growing season though was just how varied it was. For example, by the middle of May the vines were already in a very advanced vegetative state and the flowering was finished at the beginning of June. However from one day to the next, there could be as much as 12 to 15°C difference. The other key aspect of the growing season was how fast the vineyard progressed from one stage to the next. As you know, in Burgundy we have the old rule of thumb of 100 days from the flowering to the harvest but in 2003, we barely had 80 days between flowering and ripe fruit ready to pick. It was truly amazing. The heat of course gave us very tiny berries, which of course delivered very high dry extract levels. In terms of the harvest, there was no rot at all but it was necessary to eliminate withered and sunburned grapes. Sugars were excellent and there was no chaptalization. The pHs were high, coming in between 3.6 and 3.7 but we did not acidulate as we felt that the combination of high tannin and sugar contents coupled with low acidities actually gave us exceptionally well-balanced wines. I was a bit concerned at first because when we initially racked off the wines into barrel, the colors were black and the aromas surmature. But bit by bit, the freshness has returned and with the exception of the Echézeaux, none of the wines seem exceptionally ripe. The terroirs have begun to assert themselves and I am extremely optimistic that 2003 has given us genuinely great wines. While it is of course much too early to say, it's entirely possible that the '03s will rival our '47s one day." I had a chance to taste the 2003s twice, approximately 14 days apart. The first time was before the wines had been racked and the second was just shortly afterwards. While there was not a great deal of difference between the two, there was enough that my tasting notes here are a mixture of the two. For example, the cask samples after they were racked showed no reduction because the racking process aerates the wines. Conversely, the flavors were much more expressive beforehand whereas several wines were quite reserved afterwards, which is logical as one of the effects of SO2 (which is added at the time the wines are racked) adjustments is to cause the flavors to tighten up. It also tends to have a slight drying effect on the finish as well as making the tannins more pronounced until the sulfur has been completely absorbed and integrated. I agree with de Villaine's take on the '03s as several of them are destined to be great wines but, and this is the key point, they will be great wines in the context of the vintage. In other words, it's a bit like arguing over which vintage you prefer between '47 and '49, or '52 and '53, or '59 and '62 or '90 and '93; in each pair, you have one vintage that was very ripe, generous and rich versus another that is more classically structured, delicate and transparent. There is no right or wrong choice but in point of fact, each of them produced great wines but in sometimes radically contrasting styles. Such will very likely be the case with the '03s. I think it's telling when de Villaine, only half-jokingly, commented that if it were commercially feasible (which it isn't), he would bottle the entire 2003 vintage in magnums. Regarding the now bottled 2002s, de Villaine told me last year that the vintage "is difficult to simply characterize. I would say at the moment that it reminds me of 1992 and 2000 with a touch of the power of 1990 or 1999. However, if there is a distinguishing characteristic, it is the purity of the aromas; they are indeed pristine and each wine is distinctly different". He went on to add during my visit this year that "2002 is better than I originally thought. I really like the purity and while it is certainly not at the standard of 1999, there is a certain inner rigor to the wines that I very much admire. They are less charming and approachable than I thought they would be and will also be extremely long-lived wines, which wasn't as evident from cask. In fact, initially we thought they would be très flatteur but they have become much more serious and brooding. Stated differently, for me 2002 is a classic yet delicate vintage with really wonderful mouth feels and textures. And while I liked all of the '02s in their individual ways, for me the Richebourg is a real standout as it may be as good as the '62." (Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; John Armit Wines, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Justerini & Brooks and Planet Wines, all UK). Tasting note: Exceptionally ripe and plumy with floral aromas that stop just short of being overtly surmature nuanced with spice, anise and warm earth that lead to rich, fat and very sweet, indeed even opulent flavors that are quite seductive but not overly complex. This is much riper than usual and finishes with a slight touch of chewy rusticity. This is clearly the wine most marked by the vintage.

Score: 89

Allen Meadows, Burghound Maturity: 2013+ 01 January 2006