2019 Domaine Michel Ecard Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er ‘Les Narbentons’

Aromas of dark cherry, light spice, incense. Fullbodied, structured: tobacco, cherry, spice. PAIRING SUGGESTIONS: Roasted lamb; pork sausages with herbs.
Hand-harvested. Destemmed; fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tank. Pressed in an upright, hand-cranked press. Aged in French oak barrels, with 30-50% new oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

What strikes you when you first experience Burgundy from Michel Ecard is the undeniable sensation that this is the sort of Burgundian Pinot Noir for which you’ve been searching all along. This grower’s wines are upfront and honest, captivating and convincing—truly how handmade, small-batch Burgundy should be. This rocky vineyard inspires a more Bordeaux-like profile to winemaker Michel Ecard’s Pinot Noir fruit, delivering more structured tannins and cassis flavors.

2005 was an auspicious year for Michel Ecard. Not only was it a remarkable vintage for Burgundy, but also it was his first vintage, independent from the family domaine. His father, Maurice Ecard retired in 2005. Yet as is all too often the case in Burgundy, the shift from one generation to another can be less than smooth. Rather than struggle with siblings over vineyard rights, Michel decided to pursue his dream on his own.
Yet the tradition of the family Ecard is very much alive and well. With a lifetime of winemaking experience at his father’s side in Savigny, not to mention stints at wineries around the world, Michel Ecard has more than ably continued his father’s great legacy, crafting wines that honor his style and touch with Pinot Noir. Tastings their wines side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to identify which cuvee belonged to whom. The passion, the precision, and the purity of Savigny is all there. Today Ecard and his wife, Joanna, are a two-person winery, crafting all their wines by hand. His vineyards (owned by his uncle) are as well placed as his father’s, if not potentially better tended as these plots contain on average older vines, and exposures as well as soils are ideal. All wines are gravity bottled, and you’ll find but a trace of sulfur in Ecard Burgundy. Michel Ecard wines, like his father’s, are incredibly natural, each cuvee tastes as if the grapes were just picked. And considering what little sulfur he adds, their cellar life is more than impressive.