2021 Domaine Cecile Tremblay Echezeaux Du Dessus Grand Cru

Tremblay's 2021 Echézeaux du Dessus Grand Cru is a hauntingly floral, ethereal wine, wafting from the glass with scents of sweet plums and berries mingled with exotic spices, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, broad and enveloping, it's deep and seamless, with a cool core of fruit, melting tannins and a long, floral finish. As is my custom, I began my formal tastings of the 2021 vintage with Cécile Tremblay, catching the wines before they took their elevator ride to the ground floor preparatory to their racking and bottling next year. Given that this is a red Burgundy vintage that notably improved at many addresses between September and mid-December, one might imagine that my timing disadvantaged Tremblay's wines, but even tasted at this early stage, they stand out as some of the most compelling of the year. Indeed, I found myself thinking that I could sign up for a vintage of this style every year—if only it could come without the ravages of frost and the challenges of disease pressure, of course. Sensual, perfumed and precise, Tremblay's 2021s are especially well-integrated, and while they represent a notable change of pace after the saturated, concentrated 2020s, they represent a terrific success in a more traditionally Burgundian register. Alas, tiny quantities and insatiable demand mean that the wines will be harder than ever to find.(WK)

Cecile Tremblay produces a sublime Echézeaux from her two plots of Echézeaux du Dessus. These 0.18 hectares are located at the heart of the vineyard in what is arguably its greatest terroir. In 2021, the vines delivered a deeply-coloured displaying an intensely ripe aroma of blackberry and currant, with notes of earth and spice. The texture on the palate is dense and concentrated, with balanced acidity, medium-firm tannins, and great purity of fruit. The grapes were partially destemmed and fermented without punching down before ageing in cask (one-third new).(CC)