TN: Echezeaux 2007 Mugneret-Gibourg

An outstanding bottle of 2007 Red Burgundy that is drinking beautifully, and probably has some upside potential.

The color is medium ruby red and the nose is just so seductive! There are scents of deep cherry fruit, a bit of minerality and some spicy herbs and just a touch of earthy overtones to this wine. The depth of aromas on the nose is awesome. You can smell this wine from across the room. On the palate there is great fruit, good acidity, soft tannins and a long, long finish. The is perfectly balanced and it drinks really well today. Will it improve in the future? It is so good right now that it will be hard to keep my hands off it. I will probably drink it while waiting for some long term agers to mature.

A really enjoyable bottle of wine!

The sisters make one of the best Echezeaux imo…thanks for the note.

Certainly agree with this!!

One of the better '07’s, as I think their style certainly suits the vintage…

You can say this for all their appellations!

Thanks Daniel.
I will put some of this on the docket.

why “probably some upside potential?” i am confused. is there something in particular that makes you think this is a short time aging wine?

the sisters have become superstars in Burgundy and the prices of their 3 grand crus now match the status. Hopefully, they are reaping some of the star status benefit.
alan

Rasoul,

I am not Daniel but I did open one last night.

The wine is very open even now. Wonderful texture. The aromatics are ripe but pure. This is probably not a wine you would leave forever because the structure is just so inviting and the tannins are so resolved in the mouth.

Mistakes have been made however when trying to guess the ageability of Burgundy.

I thought about canceling my visit to this domaine in October because I had an early morning appointment and had to make the drive from Roanne (in the dark) after dining at Triosgros. Sooooo glad I pushed myself as it was one of the highlights of the trip. Lovely wines and equally lovely people. Can’t wait to support their efforts when the 2010’s become available. :slight_smile:

You picked a good vintage to start.

Great stuff from barrel, Don. But what do I know!

You got to taste them. That is a one up on the rest of us. The vintage sounds like my kind of vintage too. I am hoping to make a trip this year to taste a little. Love the sisters!

why “probably some upside potential?”

As the tasting note reads, and also as Don says, the tannins are soft and resolved, the nose is intense and open, there is near perfect textue and balance, and the finish is long, long , long!

Will this be more enjoyable in 5 or 10 years then it is today? It will be different, but will it be better. I don’t know, but I do know that not all wines in all vintages (occasionally even a Grand Cru Red Burgundy) are better with age. The enjoyment level of this bottle of wine, is very high. Maybe it will get even better, maybe not, thus “probably some upside potential”

It probably comes down to what will happen to this wine when the primary fruit starts to go…will it then be more attractive?

My guess is leaning towards no, so I can perfectly well see the question about the possible upside or lack thereof…

Daniel/Don

is this the softness the effect of the vintage (2007), the sister’s holding or their house style or combo of all?

I’m not Dan or Don, but think it more the vintage.

+1

I’d say primarily it’s the vintage, but still just a little bit of all those factors…

I had the '05 Ech. earlier this year, was surprisingly open and really quite pretty (in an almost delicate way, for an '05)…

For me primarily the vintage. But I have always thought the Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux is more of a medium term ager then something to hold for the long term.

The two NSG’s from 2007 are also drinking very nice.

I am an unabashed fan of M-G. Had a great tasting there in early 2008. Have been buying the wines pretty regularly for the past 10 vintages. While they can’t give you a track record of ageablility in terms of cracking open older bottles since they have only been in control for a bit more than a decade I do believe the lessons learned, their holdings and their style lend to exceptionally balanced wines that happen to taste good in their youth but will be superlative examples of their sites given time. I would err on the side of cellaring even with the 2007 vintage. While this was not their wine, the '90 Echezeaux 3 years ago was a gorgeous, sumptuous, complex and delicious wine. Their holding there is very good and their site in Clos Vougeot is about as good as it gets. I didn’t include the '01 Chambolle Feusselottes in my Top 10 this year but it was probably #11. Good stuff across the board from this domaine but don’t discount their age-worthiness based on relatively young drinkability, at least IMO.