Why Echézeaux is the grand cru to have in your cellar

‘Maximum quality for minimum cost’ is my mantra when it comes to Burgundy, particularly as prices spiral and the economy seems less certain.

Searching for value seems a safe proposition, but value as a sole proposition can lead a wine lover to overlook wines of compelling beauty, and the sweet spot is the intersection of terroir, winemaking savvy, and price.

Over the past year I have been thrilled with wines that cover the broad spectrum of Echézeaux, an appellation that is often misunderstood.

Misunderstandings (and underestimations) occur because Echézeaux is a complicated appellation and the history is not exactly straightforward.

A splintered history

The vineyard was originally the property of the monks of Cîteaux Abbey. The Abbey’s 1718 Grand Atlas showing its holdings refers to a ‘Vigne des Echézeaux’.

This included Les Echézeaux Hauts (today’s Echézeaux du Dessus), Les Echézeaux Bas (our Grands Echézeaux), and several other vineyards in the vicinity, including parts of the Combe d’Orveaux that are today included in Echézeaux.

Other vines in the area were not yet planted or did not belong to the Abbey.

Historian Jean-François Bazin tells us that the monks did not work these vines themselves (unlike the Clos de Vougeot and Richebourg), and at the time of the French Revolution, much of this land was rented to the growers tending the vines. For this reason, the Vignes des Echézeaux was not confiscated as other holdings were.

In the early years of the 19th century, Napoleon’s government drew up the cadastre, or land registry, and each of these areas was given a different name or lieu-dit, but the growers continued to sell their produce as ‘Echézeaux’.

The practice was challenged in court in 1925 by Etienne Camuzet and Eugène Mongeard-Mugneret. The pair lost their case, however, and when the appellation was created in 1936, the surrounding vines were all included in Echézeaux.

Today Echézeaux includes some or all of no fewer than 11 lieux-dits (see below).

The central kernel of the Echézeaux Hauts had expanded from 2.63ha to 3.55ha by 1855, and following the decision of the judges in Beaune, a total of 36.27ha was included in the appellation, according to the BIVB.

A close reading of the regulations gives an even higher total, however, and local expert Laurent Gotti places the figure at 38.14ha.

Location and aspect

Echézeaux is at the centre of the stretch of contiguous grand cru slope that begins with Musigny and includes the Clos de Vougeot.

The vineyard is located entirely within the village of Flagey-Echézeaux, although Flagey itself seldom appears on a wine label since the wines are sold as Vosne-Romanée.

Echézeaux du Dessus is the historic heart of the appellation, located in the middle of the slope and surrounded by other grands crus.

It is sheltered from the cooling influence of the Combe d’Orveaux and located at the base of the slope on a healthy depth of Jurassic marls. The ownership here is split between eight domaines.

Immediately north of Echézeaux du Dessus is Les Poulaillères. This lieu-dit is located more directly on the rocky alluvial cone of the Combe. It is almost exclusively the property of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

Bordering Echézeaux du Dessus is Les Loächausses, a monopole of the Gros family, with holdings from Anne Gros, AF Gros, and Gros Frère et Sœur.

Bordering Les Loächausses to the south is Les Cruots ou Vignes Blanches, made famous by Henri Jayer, who said it was the best terroir of the appellation.

Further up the slope lies the 3ha Rouges du Bas, planted on steeper slopes with a thinner layer of marl atop the limestone. The most famous Echézeaux produced here was that of Domaine Méo-Camuzet, whose label until 2021 featured the name of the lieu-dit.

Les Beaux Monts Bas borders Rouges du Bas to the south, but only a small portion of the bottom of this appellation is included in Echézeaux; the rest of the climat is classified in premier cru.

North of Rouges de Bas one finds Les Champs Traversins, whose vines are planted north-south across the slope to limit erosion.

South of Grands Echézeaux and further down the slope lie three lieux-dits that were regarded in the 19th century classification of Dr Lavalle as a step lower in quality than the rest of today’s appellation.

These include Les Treux, immediately south of Grands Echézeaux, the Clos-St-Denis (not to be confused with the grand cru of the same name in Morey-Saint-Denis), and Les Quartiers de Nuits, located between the southern end of the Clos de Vougeot and the village-level Vosne vineyard of Mazières-Hautes.

At the northern extremity of the appellation lies an 8ha section of the vineyard called En Orveaux. These vines formed part of the estate of the monks of Cîteaux.

This lieu-dit lies squarely in the Combe d’Orveaux. The combe makes it a very cool terroir, but even if the northern portion faces due south and the alluvial soils here are very well-drained, it ripens late.

Terroir

The terroir of the appellation is far from consistent. At the base of the slope, the vineyard is nearly flat (as are the nearby Grands Echézeaux and Clos de Vougeot), but the grade is nearly 15% at the top in Les Beax Monts Bas.

The soil is Jurassic-era marl mixed with clay, but it varies from 80 cm deep at the bottom and less than half of that at the top.

The soil sits over a limestone bedrock that also varies, from oolitic limestone at the top to Prémeaux and Comblanchien, with notable quantities of pebbles, stones and larger rocks in the valley called the Combe d’Orveaux.

Much of the vineyard faces east, but the sections in the Combe d’Orveaux are more varied.

The lieux-dits

Echézeaux du Dessus 4.48ha

Les Poulaillères 5.24ha

Les Loächausses 2.22ha

Les Cruots ou Vignes Blanches 3.16ha

Les Rouges du Bas 3.09ha

Les Beaux Monts Bas 0.77ha

Les Champs Traversins 3.58ha

Les Treux 4.76ha

Clos-St-Denis 1.66ha

Les Quartiers de Nuits 1.15ha

En Orveaux 8.03ha

Ten wines from Echézeaux:

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