2016 Domaine Dujac Echézeaux Grand Cru

(the estate's vines in the lieu-dit Les Champs Traversins lost about 35% of their fruit to the frost): Healthy medium-deep red. Darker on the nose than usual for the Dujac Echézeaux, offering musky scents of black raspberry and licorice. Rich, thick, seamless wine with lovely sweetness and a savory complexity; strong in extract but not particularly clenched in the early going. Finishes with ripe, dusty, chocolatey tannins, a slightly roasted fruit element and excellent length. This will need time in bottle to harmonize.

The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru was reduced by 50% due to frost. It has quite a closed, quite broody bouquet that takes time to open. This is actually not unlike a Malconsorts. However, the palate is very classy with a fine line of acidity, red and black fruit mingling together with a saline, marine-like finish that defines the final third. It does not quite possess the effortless harmony and focus of the Aux Malconsorts. But it has a satisfying focus with impressive length, to wit, a great success considering the growing season.