2013 Echézeaux Grand Cru

Régis Forey described 2013 as “a good, tasty, generous vintage—nicely balanced.” He picked nearly a month later than in 2014, noting that the 2013s don’t have the same structure as the 2014s or show their terroirs as clearly. Forey prefers the 2013s to the 2012s today as the earlier vintage is closed but he believes 2012 will eventually be superb. “Right now the 2010s are open for business, and they’re great.” Forey has reduced free sulfur at bottling to just 20 to 25 parts per million, as he now makes greater use of CO2 to keep his wines fresh.

Régis Forey describes his 2013s as "very balanced wines, not monsters, with a good crunchy character, similar in style to the 2012s and 2010s." He harvested quite late, beginning on October 8, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol levels of 12% and up, then chaptalizing lightly. "There was very little rot but there were still some pink grapes," he told me, adding that it was necessary to do a careful triage of stems. Ultimately he vinified most of his wines with about 30% whole clusters, but a full 80% for the Clos Vougeot. Forey noted that the yields in 2013 were similar to those of 2010, the vintage he still considers to be the best in a long time. Two thousand thirteen, he noted, is fruitier and better balanced than 2011, which he says possesses more earthy depth but less elegance. The 2012s, Forey added, are a bit sharper and disassociated now, and are in the processing of closing down. Except for the village Morey-Saint-Denis, which I tasted from cuve, the 2013s were still in barrel at the beginning of November and had not yet been racked.