Echezeaux Grand Cru ‘Clos Frantin’ 2012

Echezeaux is one of the most famous vineyards around Vosne-Romanee – itself a kind of Valhalla for Burgundy enthusiasts.

Albert Bichot’s plot in this vineyard is at 300 metres altitude, on a steep east-facing slope. The grapes are all worked by hand and treated only with organic fertilisers. They are handpicked at harvest, sorted, de-stemmed, and fermented in oak vats. The wine is then matured for over a year in French oak barrels (50-70% new depending on the vintage) in order to allow the tannins to soften, and to develop more complexity.

It shows an intense perfume of red berry and black fruits as well as roast coffee and bitter chocolate. Medium-bodied but with prodigious intensity and length on the palate. Superb – and suitable for extended ageing in the cellar.