Arnoux Lachaux Echezeaux Les Rouges Grand Cru 2017

Arnoux-Lachaux Échezeaux Les Rouges du Bas Grand Cru 2017
From 0.84 hectares of the fabled Les Rouges du Bas sector, Charles Lachaux’s 2017 Échezeaux captures all the lift and perfume of a classic Côte de Nuits growing season. Whole berries fermented with 100 % stems translate the parcel’s airy limestone into haunting rose petal, persimmon and ferrous spice, while finely grained tannins betray the patient 18-month élevage in largely new Burgundy pièce. Allocations now vanish on release; collectors prize this bottling as the domaine’s most ethereal grand cru, lying just below Cros Parantoux.

Producer: Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux
Vintage: 2017
Designation: Échezeaux Grand Cru
Parcels / Lieu-dit: Les Rouges du Bas
Variety: Pinot Noir
Average Vine Age: 50 years (estimated)
Soils & Exposure: Thin clay over fissured limestone, east-southeast aspect at 230-260 m
Fermentation: 100 % whole-cluster, indigenous yeasts, ~20-day vatting in wooden cuves, gentle extraction
Élevage: 18 months in French oak (≈60 % new), no fining or filtration, minimal SO₂
Alcohol: 13.5 % vol.
Total Production: 2 800 bottles (estimated)
Fun Fact: Although the new Arnoux-Lachaux label design was officially launched with the 2018 vintage, a few 2017s – including this Échezeaux – were bottled in the updated style but without serial numbers, reflecting the domaine’s transition phase.

The Domaine
Based in Vosne-Romanée since 1858, Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux has risen to cult status under sixth-generation winemaker Charles Lachaux, whose pursuit of biodiversity, high-canopy viticulture and whole-cluster vinification has redefined elegance in Burgundy. Holdings span 14.5 hectares, including grands crus Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Clos de Vougeot and Échezeaux, all farmed organically with low yields and horse ploughing. In the cellar, long, gentle fermentations segue into élevage with restrained new oak and negligible sulfur. The resulting wines marry crystalline terroir expression with riveting energy, making each release a fiercely contested allocation.