Maison Bertrand Ambroise Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France

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The 2011 Echezeaux Grand Cru comes from a 0.2-hectares parcel en fermage near the top of the slope close to Grands Echezeaux and is raised for 14 months entirely in new oak. It offers broody, dark berry infused with soy aromas on the nose that gradually musters the requisite delineation and vigor in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasant, quite plush opening: wild strawberry, white pepper, tealeaf and bay notes combining well. The tannins are solid, but fine, and it displays good weight on the finish, if not the finesse or breeding of a top Echezeaux. Drink 2015-2020. I have regularly tasted the wines from Maison Ambroise since I commenced the raft of Burgundy tastings in London. Bertrand Ambroise took over the running of the ancient Primeaux-Prissey- based negociant in 1987, and whenever I have met him, he seems to be a conscientious vigneron that cares deeply for his wine. The tenets here are all admirable: organic viticulture, handpicked fruit, rigorous sorting, minimal use of sulphur and so forth. But – and it is a big “but” – I have consistently found the wines to be smothered in superfluous new oak and at a time when many growers are generally reconsidering, and in many cases retreating from, its usage. Tasting through their 2011s seemed to say more about the cooperage than the individuality of the terroirs. Here, 100% new oak is used for both the premier and grand cru wines and it rendered them uniform and even a little passe. There is clearly high quality fruit here and there is also a keen focus upon creating the best wines possible. However, I have always felt that if Ambroise could dial down that new oak (not eradicate it completely) to a level commensurate with the fruit concentration in each cuvee, they would reveal far more personality. Still, there are some good wines to be found such as the Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains and a respectable Corton-Rognets. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Last tasted from barrel, Ambroise’s 2008 Echezeaux displays a concentration not only of the proverbial dark berries associated with all of the wines in its family, but also of veal and beef stock, accompanied by cedar, resin, and brown spices. This evinces a brightness, primary juiciness and sweetness of black raspberry and cassis to compliment its saliva-inducing meaty savor (which is reinforced by welcome salinity); and while its tannins are massive, they are fine-grained and unobtrusive. Hints of espresso, dark chocolate, and pencil lead add depth to the long finish without bitterness or austerity becoming problematic. Tasting this after the other Ambroise 2008s is like experiencing the parting of dense, dark curtains so that at last the fruit and spices as well as carnal and mineral dimensions can play their intended roles, and this performance should be worth following for at least the next 15 years. Bertrand Ambroise picked late and captured impressively ripe material in 2008, though the strident side of the vintage is sometimes still in evidence in the resultant wines, and not always comfortably married with the ambitious extraction and high quotient of new wood that characterize his regimen. (For further details concerning Ambroise’s methods, consult my report in issue 171.) I did not, regrettably, have chance to taste any of Ambroise’s 2007s, which he characterizes, predictably, as having been much more open early-on than his 2008s and as for the most part being ideal to drink young. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Last tasted from barrel, Ambroise’s 2008 Echezeaux displays a concentration not only of the proverbial dark berries associated with all of the wines in its family, but also of veal and beef stock, accompanied by cedar, resin, and brown spices. This evinces a brightness, primary juiciness and sweetness of black raspberry and cassis to compliment its saliva-inducing meaty savor (which is reinforced by welcome salinity); and while its tannins are massive, they are fine-grained and unobtrusive. Hints of espresso, dark chocolate, and pencil lead add depth to the long finish without bitterness or austerity becoming problematic. Tasting this after the other Ambroise 2008s is like experiencing the parting of dense, dark curtains so that at last the fruit and spices as well as carnal and mineral dimensions can play their intended roles, and this performance should be worth following for at least the next 15 years. Bertrand Ambroise picked late and captured impressively ripe material in 2008, though the strident side of the vintage is sometimes still in evidence in the resultant wines, and not always comfortably married with the ambitious extraction and high quotient of new wood that characterize his regimen. (For further details concerning Ambroise’s methods, consult my report in issue 171.) I did not, regrettably, have chance to taste any of Ambroise’s 2007s, which he characterizes, predictably, as having been much more open early-on than his 2008s and as for the most part being ideal to drink young.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083