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Nicolas Potel Echézeaux Grand Cru(2002)
- Winery:
- Nicolas Potel
- Varietal:
- Region:
- France > Burgundy
- Type:
- Red Wine
- User Tags:
- fruit, big, spice, rich, dried, closed, burgundy, powerful, cellar, alcohol imbalance
- Burghound
- Issue 13, Jan 01, 2004
- 91/100
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May 2008
- The big news here is that Maison Potel has been acquired by the Cottin brothers who own and manage Labouré-Roi. Nicholas Potel was emphatic that this was primarily a financial transaction as both firms will retain their separate labels and marketing identities. Potel told me that the alliance with Labouré-Roi will permit him access to capital to refurbish his cuvérie with state-of-the-art equipment and to develop further additional markets. Few people realize it but Labouré-Roi is a powerhouse in Burgundy and is the number three négociant in terms of revenues. Insiders tell me that read more...this was less of an actual purchase than a bailout as rumors had been swirling for months that Maison Potel was over extended. Still, Potel was upbeat, telling me that with the new equipment and increased financial resources, he would have access to better grape sources and thus the quality of his wines would increase still further. Potel describes the 2002 growing season as essentially disastrous until the end of August. We had quite a bit of rain, which encouraged the rot but thankfully, the north wind saved our bacon. Potel noted one important distinction which was that the maturity was in the fruit, not in the vines which he believes never really finished, which is why the leaves stayed on the vines as long as they did. 2002 is an atypical vintage that is dominated by its fruit but there is no surmaturité. We had adequate ripeness of the stalks and while we didn't retain all of them, in certain parcels we kept 20 to 30% of the stems. I particularly like the acid/fruit balance and we got good if not truly sensational sugars at 11.5 to 13%. I would guess that we chaptalized roughly one-third of the wines. As to the wines themselves, I honestly wasn't a big fan of them at first but as the élevage has progressed, I like them better and better. We'll bottle earlier than normal because the hot summer definitely accelerated the maturity of some wines and I think it's best to preserve the freshness. Curiously, this is not due to the heat but rather the high pressure, which kept most of the fine lees in suspension for much of the summer. As to vintage comparisons, I would suggest that 2002 is a mix of '85 and '89. Potel's wines continue to improve and while I thought that his 2001s were his best to date, these 2002s, when considered as a group are better still. The present plan is to bottle everything before Christmas and a few of the wines reviewed here were already in bottle. Note: the Romanée St. Vivant, Richebourg and the rest of the Bonnes Mares had not been picked up yet so I was unable to taste them for review here. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; there are many UK sources, including Goedhuis & Co., Bibendum, Berry Brother & Rudd and The Wine Society). Note: this was also hand destemmed Soaring, expansive and opulent spice and black tea aromas merge seamlessly into big, robust, intense and powerfully sappy flavors that are supported by remarkably fine tannins and a strikingly rich and precise finish that goes on and on. This may be the biggest surprise in this range of grands crus and offers truly stunningly quality. (hide)
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Source:
Flickinger Wines
- IWC 89-92 (4/2004): Red-ruby. Very closed nose hints at dried flowers, spices and mocha. Tightly wound and dominated by its oak today. Hiding its volume and in need of more time in barrel. A rather powerful style of Echezeaux, but disjointed today.
