2018 Echézeaux Grand Cru

Emmanuel Rouget, joined by his two sons Guillaume and Nicolas, has overseen some marvelous wines in recent vintages, recovering from an inconsistent patch during the Nineties (incidentally where I have encountered more than my fair share of corked bottles, the last culprit a 1993 Echézeaux.) As always, Rouget himself is taciturn at first, taking time to warm up and then becomes quite chatty (I discovered that his uncle, Henri Jayer, had undergone the same heart operation as myself so now I have something in common with the legendary winemaker.) Rouget told me that he commenced the harvest on 9 September. Since temperatures was so hot, around 30°C and even warmer than in 2003, he had to cool the fruit in tank. He compares his 2018s to 2015 in terms of their structure and alcohol. Of course, following the tenets of Jayer, all his wines are completely de-stemmed and undergo two winters maturation in barrel.