Wine Advisor
Jean-Marc Millot, Echezeaux Grand Cru 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru is smudged and a little facile on the nose at the moment: dark berry fruit, mulberry and autumn leaf aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, and firm grip. The tannins are a little angular towards the finish but there is decent persistency, more so than its peers. This Echézeaux just needs more personality and soul on the nose. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.
About the Producer
Domaine Jean-Marc Millot is located in the Cote de Nuits appellation in Burgundy, France, and is a boutique winery within the appellation. Jean-Marc Millot began learning to grow vines and make wine in the 1980s and officially established Jean-Marc Millot in 1992. The estate was originally built on an area of around 6 hectares, which was expanded to 7.4 hectares when his wife Christine inherited part of the family estate. Jean-Marc then acquired several Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards in the vicinity of the estate, which allowed him to expand the estate even further. Today, Jean-Marc Miller's vineyards cover a total area of 8 hectares and are located in the Grand Cru Echezeaux, Grand Cru Grands Echezeaux, Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot and Premier Cru Les Suchots. Jean-Marc Miller's goal is to produce a pure and attractive red Burgundy Pinot Noir. The vineyards are all organically grown, with no chemical pesticides or fertilisers and almost no mechanical equipment used. Everything is done by hand, from planting the grapes, pruning the leaves, picking the fruit to making the wine. The winery staff strictly control the maceration time of the grapes to avoid extracting too much rough tannin. During the fermentation process, the winemaker tastes the wine several times at regular intervals to ascertain the exact fermentation and to keep an eye on the changes in the flavour of the wine. Château Jean-Marc-Miller is committed to a "low yield, high quality" approach to winemaking. At present, the estate produces an average of 2,500 to 3,200 litres of wine per hectare. The wines are elegant, delicate and balanced, and are highly appreciated by consumers. Jean-Marc Miller himself has been highly praised by famous wine critics such as Jasper Morris and Clive Coates, and has been described as "the future star of Burgundy winemaking".
