2000 Echézeaux Grand Cru

Regis Forey told me the skins in 2001 were richer and riper than those of 2000. Incidentally, he described 2000 as "like a more concentrated version of '92," a comparison that strikes me as apt for many sets of wines I tasted in November. Forey did three punchdowns a day in 2000 and up to 23 days of cuvaison a level of extraction that may have been a bit overenthusiastic for this vintage's raw materials. The cuvaison was even longer for the 2001s, a crop of wines that Forey described as harder to vinify and more severe than the 2000s. The grapes were riper but it was harder to extract color. We probably should have harvested later for more thorough ripeness." There was a higher ratio of skin to juice and thus Forey did very little saignee Forey does not find the tannins to be hard or green but feels that the wines still need to round out in barrel and was planning to bottle them a bit later than usual. They should turn out well if Forey is able to get them into the bottle with their vibrancy intact.

Regis Forey bought a new pneumatic press in time for the 2000 harvest, and this has allowed him to age his wines with finer bourbes thus getting less bitterness. This was a good vintage to handle gently, according to Forey. "Two thousand is full of fruit, round and pleasant, a nice expression of pinot and terroir " said Forey. "But there less structure and much less acidity than in 1999, and a shorter levage will be necessary, in order to avoid drying out the wines." I found a few of the young 2000s a bit tough in the context of the vintage and dominated by their new oak (Forey uses all new barrels for his top crus), but generally better balanced than Forey's more muscular and sometimes brutally tannic '99s.