Domaine Jean-Marc Millot’s Grands Échézeaux is the estate’s most prestigious red wine expression, drawn from a parcel in this 9.14-hectare Grand Cru that sits immediately below the Clos de Vougeot and above the Échezeaux, on the steepest and most limestone-dominant soils of the Flagey-Échezeaux hillside. Grands Échezeaux is consistently regarded as one of Burgundy’s finest and most compelling Grand Crus, combining the mineral precision and linear structure of great limestone-dominant Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir with a depth, body and aromatic complexity that its slightly larger neighbour Échezeaux in its finest parcels approaches but rarely achieves with the same consistency. Domaine G. Roumier and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are the most celebrated producers of Grands Échezeaux, and a small independent producer like Millot, with its naturally minimal-intervention approach and genuine parcel holdings in this Grand Cru, offers a compelling alternative at prices that reflect the domaine’s more modest commercial profile.

The 2020 Burgundy vintage was warm and generous, producing wines of excellent early aromatic appeal and supple tannin structure that have proved particularly suitable for early drinking without sacrificing the structural depth and mineral character that define the finest Côte de Nuits Grand Crus. For Grands Échezeaux, whose limestone-dominant upper-slope soils provide more mineral freshness and structural depth than many Côte de Nuits Grand Crus, the 2020’s warmth should translate into a wine of considerable breadth and aromatic generosity alongside the site’s inherent mineral structure. The domaine’s care in farming and vinification allows the Grands Échezeaux’ specific character to emerge with the kind of clarity and honesty that smaller, less commercially driven estates typically achieve more naturally than the major négociants.

Grands Échezeaux from a small independent grower represents one of the most compelling and intellectually rewarding propositions in fine Burgundy: a Grand Cru of undeniable historical prestige, produced in tiny quantities by a careful producer whose motivation is quality and site expression rather than commercial scale, at prices that allow collectors to engage with this extraordinary appellation without the extreme financial commitment that Domaine G. Roumier or DRC demand.

Deep ruby with a complex and mineral nose of dark cherry, dried rose, iron, spice, forest floor, black truffle and the distinctive mineral authority of Grands Échezeaux on its steep limestone and clay soils. Full-bodied with formidable tannin depth, excellent natural acidity and a very long, structured, mineral finish of Grand Cru distinction. Best from 2027 through 2046.