Gilles Jayer’s 2008 Echezeaux du Dessus combines bright cherry, red currant and blackberry with marrow-rich and multi-boned meat stock; crushed stone; bitter-sweet herbs; and mouth-watering salinity. Texturally so refined as to be creamy, it’s hard to imagine this having come from the barrels next door to such an aggressively tannic Nuits Les Damodes. Not that the fat- and puffery-free leanness or energetic brightness typical of the best wines of its vintage are missing here – far from it. But there is exceptional polish and refinement. Hints of musk, white truffle, and black pepper add to the intrigue of an exhilarating finish. This ought to be worth following for at least the next 20 years. (As usual, there are eight barrels.) Gilles Jayer did not commence harvesting is 2008 Pinots until October 1, with his Echezeaux. (In 2007, he began August 31.) With the exception of a few top parcels, he notes, triage had to be more severe in 2007 (just as in 2006) than it was in 2008, when he estimates that only 3-5% of what arrived in the press house was rejected. These 2008s evolved very slowly, in many instances retaining gaseous memoirs of their malo-lactic fermentations through the winter of 2009-2010, and not only were none of them bottled until after I last tasted them, but the Cotes de Nuits-Villages was simply not ready to be assessed. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Ripe cherry; red and black currant; beef marrow; black truffle; and well-integrated hints of caramel from barrel complexly scent the Jayer-Gilles 2007 Echezeaux du Dessus; then reunite on a silken-textured yet animated palate whose umami-rich sense of pan drippings may offend a vegetarian wine lover but set my salivary glands pumping uncontrollably and is beautifully complimented by the hint of caramelization. This hasn’t quite the resonance and energy of the 2008, but it’s even more seductive and offers a soothing as well as animating impression in its lusciously lingering finish. I suspect it will still be quite capable of seduction 15 years from now, and perhaps even for longer. Gilles Jayer did not commence harvesting is 2008 Pinots until October 1, with his Echezeaux. (In 2007, he began August 31.) With the exception of a few top parcels, he notes, triage had to be more severe in 2007 (just as in 2006) than it was in 2008, when he estimates that only 3-5% of what arrived in the press house was rejected. These 2008s evolved very slowly, in many instances retaining gaseous memoirs of their malo-lactic fermentations through the winter of 2009-2010, and not only were none of them bottled until after I last tasted them, but the Cotes de Nuits-Villages was simply not ready to be assessed. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Jayer Gilles' 2006 Echezeaux du Dessus unites remarkably sweet, viscous, enveloping, liqueur-like cassis and black raspberry with firm, finely-tannic structure and undertones of crushed stone and grilled, charred meats. For all of its density and abundance of tannin, the over-riding impression here is creamy and soothing, and for all of that creaminess and the wine's sheer sweetness of fruit, a sense of freshness enlivens its giraffe's neck-like finish. While this is wonderfully seductive now, it isn't showing anything like the depth and complexity I expect it will exhibit in 4-5 years, and I would make plans to enjoy it over a dozen or more. Gilles Jayer is well-known for his wines' concentration, sweetness of fruit, and structure, and it was evident from cask that he had experienced no qualms or compunction about swinging for the fences in 2006, either. Jayer related that not more than 15% of inferior fruit had to be culled from any of his parcels. Malo-lactic transformations were even later and more protracted here in this vintage than in 2005. I last tasted these wines ten days before the commencement of bottling, which on account of their tardy evolution was due to take place the same week for all but one appellation. The likely exception was a Les Damodes "all" two and a half barrels of which still harbored malic acid and were full of gas Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Gilles Jayer’s 2005 Echezeaux du Dessus is so- labeled (with “du Dessus” in smaller print) to call attention to the prime portion of this too-large grand cru in which it originates. After the virtual attack mounted on the senses by this year’s Les Damodes, we now have something a bit more sedate and sorted-out. A flamboyant aroma of black raspberry confiture, creme de cassis, coconut, clove, nutmeg, star anise and roasted meats leads to a clear, sweetly-fruited, smoke-tinged palate and a finish that reverberates with low-toned stony mineral notes and pure peals of gloriously ripe yet brightly ringing fruit. Two thousand five has been a year to witness some amazing successes from those portions of Echezeaux that nature designed for great Pinot potential, but the quality from Jayer-Gilles and his vines has seldom been less than outstanding year after year. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083.

Sporting a nose of spicy, tobacco-laced red fruits, the 2002 Echezeaux du Dessus displays a softly textured, medium-bodied core of cherries, raspberries, flowers, and earth. This wine’s gorgeously expressive personality displays exceptional depth, focus, and length. The Jayers, both Gilles and his retired father Robert, have produced more massive, concentrated Echezeauxs but this is the most elegant, feminine, and graceful I’ve tasted from this estate. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2016. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083