2014 Echézeaux Grand Cru

“The 2014s have had great drinkability from the start,” said Jean Grivot in November He compared them to the 2011s for their “great charm” but noted that 2014 is a better version of this style He went on: “The 2014s don’t have the same dimension as the 2015s but today they seem very good The ‘15s are more lyrical, voluptuous, sophisticated, while the ‘14s have freshness, precision and wisdom” Interestingly, the pHs are higher in the ‘14s than in the ‘15s (an average of 352 vs 342, respectively) Grivot described the later vintage as “opulent, but with the acidity of great Chardonnay” Grivot bottled his 2014s in February and at the end of March

“The 2014s have had great drinkability from the start,” said Jean Grivot in November. He compared them to the 2011s for their “great charm” but noted that 2014 is a better version of this style. He went on: “The 2014s don’t have the same dimension as the 2015s but today they seem very good. The ‘15s are more lyrical, voluptuous, sophisticated, while the ‘14s have freshness, precision and wisdom.” Interestingly, the pHs are higher in the ‘14s than in the ‘15s (an average of 3.52 vs. 3.42, respectively). Grivot described the later vintage as “opulent, but with the acidity of great Chardonnay.” Grivot bottled his 2014s in February and at the end of March.

Etienne Grivot did not start harvesting in 2014 until September 18, as he wanted to wait for full phenolic maturity. He eliminated the grapes affected by acid rot about ten days before the harvest and then tossed out another 8% of his fruit on the sorting table. Potential alcohol levels ranged from 12. 2% to 12. 5% and Grivot chaptalized between 0. 4% and 0. 7%, depending on the cuvée. He “vinified inert” with carbonic gas to prevent volatile acidity. Since 2008, Grivot has carried out his fermentations with a significant percentage of uncrushed berries and he began using a new destemmer in 2014 that allows him to keep even more of the berries intact; in fact, now he needs to carry out one or two additional punchdowns (two to five in total for each cuvée) to get the level of extraction he seeks.

Grivot described 2014 as a “sophisticated, elegant, charming year but with aging potential too. ” He believes that the wines will have more energy than the 2013s. “The 2014s show graphite and iodine minerality,” he added, “and they’re going to take on a lot more flesh in next couple of years. ”

Grivot gave me some statistics that illustrate how production has fallen in Burgundy in recent years, even on the Côte de Nuits, which has for the most part avoided the damaging hailstorms that have ravaged large swaths of the Côte de Beaune. “A good crop for us in Pinot Noir is 250 to 270 barrels,” he told me. Between 2010 and 2013 we made 150 to 190 each year, and even in 2014 we have only 220. ”