2005 Echezeaux

Good deep red-ruby color. Redcurrant, tobacco, licorice and minerals on the nose. Dense, concentrated and sweet, with ripe acids framing the somewhat reserved red fruit flavors. Finishes with substantial ripe tannins. A bit youthfully sullen but there's strong material here. Like all of the top cru bottlings here, this will reward eight to ten years of cellaring.

The Meo 2005 Echezeaux leads with slightly tart red raspberry and red currant which mingle with suggestions of caramel on the very creamy palate. Back-end brightness is allied to somewhat awkward tannins and the culprit in this finish is the recent racking and sulfuring. Concentration, ripeness, purity and vigor will win the day as soon as the wine recovers. ||Between the effects of drought and of localized hail (in May, before it could effect quality) Jean-Nicolas Meo reported one of his smallest-ever harvests. His production, however, is being boosted these days by a range of negociant wines under the label “Meo-Camuzet Frere et Soeur” (marked “F&S” in the listing above). The top wines had been assembled in tank and sulfured in preparation for bottling, and were suffering a bit on account of this. Wine Advocate.April, 2007