Echézeaux, Domaine Emmanuel Rouget 2016

A very dense nose flashes notes of plum liqueur, black fruit and a wonderfully broad range of exotic Asian-style spice that in particular includes sandalwood. The rich, generous and velvet-textured flavors caress the palate thanks to the seemingly endless reserves of dry extract that imparts a real sense of volume to the firm, dusty and mouth coating finish that displays sneaky good length. In sum this is at once powerful yet seductive and in particular I like the sense of harmony. This should be genuinely great in time. Drink: 2031+

The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru comes from three parcels within the grand cru. Emmanuel told me that it was frosted 30% but between 10% to 20% lost in terms of buds. It has a tightly wound bouquet, the fruit a little darker than I was expecting, perhaps shaded by the vivacity of the les Beaumonts. The palate is well balanced with firm tannin, dark cherries and blueberry, a touch of licorice that frames a confit-like, vivacious finish that lingers longer than I was anticipating. This is a classy, inevitably delicious Echézeaux. 2021 - 2045