2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru

Technical director Jérôme Flous marveled over the shape and unique characteristics of the 2016 growing season and wines. “According to the calendar, it’s a late vintage, like 2013 and 2008, but it was also a very ripe year,” he said. “Acidity levels are not far from the 2014s, but we also had the high sugars and phenolic ripeness of a hot vintage.” The very warm, dry summer included just enough precipitation to keep the maturity process going, said Flous, and Faiveley began harvesting Pinot Noir on the Côte de Beaune on September 24, with high grape sugars but minuscule quantities due to the frost (a number of these wines were made in tiny fermenters, like the one they routinely use for their Musigny). The team then picked most of their grand cru vineyards during the last three days of September and finished up on October 4 with village wines. Alcohol levels in some of the ‘16s approach 14%, and a number of ‘16s are higher in octane than their 2015 counterparts.

“Gevrey-Chambertin was the lucky village of the vintage,” said Flous, as there was almost no frost damage here, and Faiveley’s vines on the hill of Corton also were mostly spared. “In general, vines with no grass between the rows were less frosted,” noted Flous, as these vineyards retained less moisture from rain and humidity the night before the frost.