2005 Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Echezeaux

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/31/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (ECHEZEAUX Naudin-Ferrand) 2005 Red Burgundy Dear Friends, Little did I know that my first barrel whiff of this wine would propel me on a 24 month journey to acquire it and today’s the day - we have an allocation of the 2005 Vielles-Vignes, one of the most difficult wines to get in Burgundy. Marketing banter and hyperbole aside, this is one of the more interesting stories in Burgundy right now and the wine below is one the Cote de Nuits's most serious examples in the $35 range. I hope all of you have time to sit for a few moments to digest this so here goes... Naudin-Ferrand is the small grower/owner I told you about a few weeks ago with the Aligote from 100yr old vines. Few truly know who they are but many rattle of their name to sound like they are on the inside of Burgundy’s elite. They have caused one of the bigger underground buzz-saws in the Cotes over the last few years but if you ask the established domaines who they are most still give a “huh?”. It is not until you peel off a layer of the old-guard that the pioneering youth of the region will say “Ah, yes - these are compelling wines”. For a rival winemaker to say “compelling” in Burgundy is like saying they are the next Comte de Vogue or more appropriately, due to style, the new Leroy (although Claire Naudin will completely deny this with embarrassment). My first foray into Naudin-Ferrand was at a late-night gathering of the underground winemakers coalition (uwc) in the environs of Beaune. Think Jack Kerouac meets Henri Jayer and you will get the picture - replete with berets, nasty tasting glasses and a dark, dingy smoke filled cellar. The French often wonder why I constantly excuse myself while tasting and return a few minutes later, refreshed and with a smile on my face. Their suspicion is that I have some form of dysentery but it is actually to go outside, into the fresh oxygen (without the Gallois blue haze) to get a true sense of the wines I am tasting. To them, the Gitane smoke enhances their palate, to me that is a ridiculous notion (who knows how the French are coping with the new anti-smoking laws that just went into effect). At the uwc (lower case is obligatory), everyone is required to bring a bottle of something unusual or something that was pushing the envelope in a terroir sense - not a modern sense. One of the winemakers from Moey St. Denis brought this (from a previous vintage). That was all it took. Naudin Ferrand’s 2005 Cote de Nuits Villages “Vielles Vignes” is just an amazing little wine. I’m not sure what to liken this to but it’s just about impossible to find at retail in France (or anywhere else) and for good reason - after sampling hundreds if not over a thousand 2005 red Burgundy wines since the original barrel tastings (from the known and unknown) , I can say without hesitation that this is one of the wines of the vintage in its price-range (I believe few will argue this point once they taste the wine). It’s like a Nuits St. George version of a downscaled Mugnier 2005 Chambolle “Fuees” bottling. The origins of this wine are kept somewhat secret but Naudin-Ferrand’s winery in the hills to the south of Nuits St. George give some of that secret away. From 50-70 year old vines (and a few rows that are supposedly from 1907 - 101 years old) the composition reportedly contains a little of “this and that” from around the towns of Nuits and Corgoloin including the odd bucket of Les Cailles and Pruliers from one of their friends (you can look up how favorably those Nuits St. George vineyards performed in 2005). Whatever it is - you will want it. This wine is given status just below the winery’s Echezeaux (on the same level as their 1er bottling) and it’s easy to see why. Here is my tasting note and first impression, word for word and unedited (except for the expletives) - scratched on the back of a Dujac label that I found somewhere - karma for sure as this wine also reminds me quite a bit of the red sap style of Dujac’s better bottlings: “Gorgeous, pure red fruit sap that drips with sophisticated intensity and the bright red blood of Pinot Noir from this area of the Cote de Nuits. Deep, dark, earth scents of Nuits with just a touch of wood - almost Gevrey earth at first, mixed with a sultry, seductive Dujac-like purity and bright red sap. Very long on the palate, full of energy but refinement. Nothing rustic, pure class - can’t stop drinking this. Mineral tone - lovely, heavenly and heroin-like light caramel covered fruit tones coming out like so may of the best 2005s that spill material most vintages would beg for - supposedly has partial raising in special Vosges cooperage normally reserved for Grand Cru wines like de Vogue - a winery wouldn’t do that unless the material is as strong as this. Re-taste to make sure I am not drunk”. I re-tasted the wine three different times and the notes were the same except the wine gets better with 2-4 hours of air and it was even better after 24 hours of air - not the norm for Pinot Noir. $35 seems like what a split should cost? Maybe in 2000 or 2004 but in 2005? I think that’s enough for now. If you like to get in on the ground floor of something special, Naudin-Ferrand will not disappoint...especially in 2005. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all of the above ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance Please note: this is not the regular Hautes Cotes de Nuits or regular Cotes de Nuits Villages - both are good but they are not the Vielles Vignes. 2005 Naudin-Ferrand Cote de Nuits Villages “Vielles Vignes” FIRST COME FIRST SERVED at this price up to 6/person until we run out (if you would like 12, please let us know, but I do not anticipate more than 6/person) We also have a few bottles (and I mean bottles) of their 2005 Echezeaux recently profiled in the 2008 Bettane & Desseauve (one of France’s most influential wine publications). Quantities are so limited, I’ll just leave this one alone... 2005 Naudin-Ferrand Echezeaux Grand Cru EXTREMELY LIMITED Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Burg4610 Burg4620