Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret, Echézeaux Grand Cru

When it comes to his vineyards, Vincent takes an intelligent and pragmatic view: "I adopt many of the practices of organics and biodynamics," he says. "But all of our vineyards are different, and all require a different approach, so the use of one philosophy would not give us the quality we're looking for." The 30-65 year old vines of Échezeaux are planted on a hard limestone soil with little clay content and are Guyot pruned. In the spring severe debudding took place to regulate the crop. A green harvest was carried out in the summer to increase the chances of high quality and maturity.

Following the challenges of 2021, the 2022 vintage in Burgundy was characterised by abundance and excellence. Despite heatwaves and the largest drought in Burgundy since 1976, 2022 emerged as a generous vintage, with excellent quality and yields far exceeding the three previous years. The growing season began with a cold winter, which delayed budburst and ensured most vineyards escaped April frosts unscathed. Optimal spring conditions followed and the vines grew quickly, with flowering taking place in mid-May. The summer was hot and dry, yet rain showers at the end of June replenished water reserves and allowed vines to thrive. Harvest began at the end of August and lasted until mid-September and the quality of the fruit harvested was excellent, with vibrant aromatics and balancing acidity.

The juice underwent a cold maceration for 48 hours to obtain colour, aroma and tannin. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks at 30ºC for 12-15 days. A gentle pressing of the grapes was then made to extract a good level of tannins. The free run juice and the press juice were then unified in stainless-steel tanks before being run off by gravity into French oak barrels, with 30-50% of which were new. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and was then further aged for a period of 14-16 months. Finally the wine was bottled without filtering.