Arnoux-Lachaux Grand Cru Échezeaux Les Rouges 2021

Charles Lachaux looks after a thin 0.7-hectare strip of vines in the Rouges du Bas climat. This outstanding site stretches high up on the Côte alongside the Vosne 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. There is very little topsoil here before the vines hit the hard limestone (similar to the composition found in Prémeaux). This wine reminds us why the vines of Échezeaux—and Flagey in general—have so often been grouped with those of Vosne. Since 2018, this wine has been labelled with the name of its lieu-dit, Les Rouges. This has always been one of the great wines of the domaine and one of the very finest examples of Échezeaux. The 2021 is intensely red-fruited and perhaps the most perfumed wine so far in the tasting–a wine to meditate on. You just want to keep smelling, let alone sipping!