Echézeaux Grand Cru, Domaine du Clos Frantin, 2012
Echézeaux Grand Cru, Domaine du Clos Frantin, 2012
- 75cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Pinot Noir
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Optimal drinking window: Now - 2038
Neal Martin comments that Maison Bichot (owner of the domaine) can make “really quite delicious, complex wines that often surprise people in blind tastings when not swayed by the label.” We have always selected cuvées which offer comparable quality at a more attractive price than a number of big names - here you’ll find real value and drinking pleasure.
Domaine du Clos Frantin is located at the heart of the Côte de Nuits in a beautiful 18th century estate in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Over 50% of their 7.3 hectares of vineyards are Premier and Grand Cru sites, all farmed organically since 2018. The domaine has the largest plantings of Vosne-Romanée’s top Premier Cru “Les Malconsorts”, one of the first in line for elevation to Grand Cru status, yet it remains a fiftieth the cost of a bottle of neighbour La Tâche!
The 2012 vintage in Burgundy produced wines with real structure and generosity, and at fourteen years old this Échézeaux is now entering a very comfortable drinking plateau. The primary fruit has long since given way to secondary complexity — dried cherry, earth, leather, and spice — and the tannins have settled into that characteristic silky texture. We would drink it with pleasure now and over the next five to seven years, with peak drinking likely between now and 2036. After that, the fruit will begin to fade faster than the secondary character, and the wine will start to feel leaner rather than more refined.
What the critics say:
"A velvety and dusty Echezeaux with an amazing texture. Full and round with ripe fruit and a long finish. This is very serious. From organically grown grapes. Better in 2017."
Tasting Notes
AppearanceDeep ruby with a garnet tinge at the rim, still showing real density for a fourteen-year-old Burgundy.
NoseDark cherry, dried rose petal, and a gentle earthiness that speaks of the Côte de Nuits at its most expressive. There is real complexity here — a kind of sous-bois depth that has developed beautifully with age, alongside something almost iron-like and mineral. The oak is fully absorbed, which it should be at this stage.
PalateThe texture is the first thing you notice — velvety and rounded, just as you would hope from a warm, generous vintage. Ripe dark fruit fills the mid-palate with a gentle spice and a silky tannin structure that has had time to fully integrate. The acidity keeps it lively and precise, preventing the 2012 richness from tipping into anything heavy.
FinishLong, savoury, and persistent — the kind of finish that makes you sit quietly for a moment before reaching for the glass again.
Overall impressionA serious, giving Grand Cru at a point in its life where patience has clearly been rewarded.
Food Pairings
In Burgundy, this would find its natural home alongside boeuf bourguignon — the slow-braised richness of the dish mirrors the wine's own depth and generosity. A roast pintade, or guinea fowl, with a sauce made from the wine itself is another classic pairing that the locals would not overthink. Coq au vin made properly, with good lardons and the wine already open on the table, is a thoroughly honest match. For something simpler, aged Époisses or Comté at room temperature with a good baguette is the kind of thing Burgundians do on a Tuesday and call it nothing special.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 16 to 17 degrees Celsius — any warmer and the alcohol starts to dominate, any cooler and the aromatic complexity closes up. Decant for around thirty to forty-five minutes; this is not a wine that needs hours of air, but a gentle wake-up will open the nose considerably. A large-bowled Burgundy glass is the right choice here, giving the wine room to breathe and concentrating those lifted aromatics toward the rim.
Échézeaux sits in the heart of the Côte de Nuits, on the mid-slope of the Vosge hillside just above Clos de Vougeot. The soils here are a mix of brown limestone and clay over Jurassic bedrock, shallower in the upper sections where the best parcels tend to sit, which keeps yields honest and concentrates what ends up in the glass. The slope provides good drainage and that crucial east-facing aspect, catching the morning sun while avoiding afternoon excess. It is this combination of thin soils and precise drainage that gives the wine its characteristic lift and precision rather than the broader, more generous style of the flatter grand crus.
Échézeaux is one of Burgundy's largest Grand Crus, covering around 37 hectares split across eleven lieu-dits and more than eighty individual growers. That scale matters: the appellation spans a wide range of quality, from parcels touching the finest sites of Vosne-Romanée to plots further north with more modest ambitions. Critics have long debated whether Échézeaux deserves its Grand Cru status uniformly, but the best parcels — particularly those closest to Grands Échézeaux — make a very convincing argument. It is Grand Cru Pinot Noir at a price point that makes its neighbours look embarrassingly overpriced.
The 2012 growing season in Burgundy reads like a thriller with a happy ending. Spring arrived early with warm weather that had vines budding ahead of schedule, only for a brutal cold snap in early May to devastate many vineyards with frost damage. What followed was a challenging summer of variable weather that kept growers on edge, with harvest beginning in mid-September under uncertain skies. The producers who survived the frost found themselves with dramatically reduced yields but fruit of surprising concentration.
Those reduced quantities proved a blessing in disguise, producing wines with intensity and focus that caught everyone off guard. The reds show genuine depth without the sometimes austere tannins of more celebrated vintages, while the whites display mineral precision with enough richness to satisfy. We find 2012 Burgundies drinking beautifully now, offering immediate pleasure whilst retaining enough structure to reward cellaring until 2028 for the best examples. This is a vintage that rewards the patient buyer who looks beyond the headlines.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Velvety and rounded, with dark cherry, dried rose, and a savoury earthiness that comes with age. The 2012 vintage gave the wine a generous, ripe character, but the Grand Cru structure keeps it precise and long on the finish. Think silk rather than velvet, depth rather than weight.
When should I drink this wine?
The secondary complexity is fully developed, the tannins are integrated, and there is no reason to wait any longer — though an extra two or three years will not hurt it. Beyond 2038, the fruit will begin to recede.
Is this wine good value for a Grand Cru?
Honestly, yes. Échézeaux from a quality-focused domaine like Clos Frantin at a sensible price is one of the better arguments for Grand Cru Burgundy not requiring a second mortgage. The quality here consistently surprises people in blind tastings, which is exactly the kind of thing we look for.
What food should I serve with this?
Classic Burgundian fare works best: boeuf bourguignon, roast guinea fowl, or coq au vin. Aged Comté or Époisses cheese are also excellent companions. Keep it simple and let the wine do the talking.
How should I serve it?
Serve at 16 to 17 degrees Celsius in a large-bowled Burgundy glass. Decant for around thirty to forty-five minutes before serving — enough to open the aromatics without stripping the wine of its subtlety.
Who makes this wine and should I trust them?
Domaine du Clos Frantin is owned by Maison Albert Bichot and sits at the heart of the Côte de Nuits in an 18th century estate in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Over half their vineyards are Premier or Grand Cru, all farmed organically since 2018. Neal Martin has noted that they regularly outperform expectations in blind tastings — which, for a domaine that does not shout about itself, says everything.
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