Domaine Dujac
Échézeaux Grand Cru
Échezeaux Grand Cru, Flagey-Échézeaux
2004
Vintage
Varietal
Pinot Noir
ABV
Where it is, June 2026
At Peak: in the heart of its drinking window (2007-2028).
In 2026, the Domaine Dujac Échézeaux Grand Cru 2004 is in the final 2 years of its peak drinking window. The window closes in 2028, hard decline begins in 2037, and 2026 is one of the last ideal moments to open any remaining bottles. Act with urgency. After 19 years within its peak phase, this wine has arrived at a point of complete development: Dujac's signature whole-cluster fermentation, which brings lifted aromatic transparency and silky textural precision to every vintage, has had two decades to integrate into the Échézeaux terroir in a way that now shows the appellation's character at its most transparent and complete. The 2004 Burgundy growing season was challenging, cool and leaner than surrounding years, and Dujac's whole-cluster approach suited it perfectly - producing a wine of remarkable aromatics and vibrant acidity that has remained vital where heavier-intervention approaches in the same year faded earlier. Open every remaining bottle before 2028 with full confidence. Do not wait.
The ‘04 Échézeaux Grand Cru.
The 2004 Domaine Dujac Échézeaux has only 2 years left in its peak window - open by 2028 or miss it. A profound whole-cluster Pinot Noir of lifted aromatic transparency and silky texture that turned a difficult vintage into something unexpectedly beautiful.
Drinking window
Tasting note
Pale garnet, translucent at the rim with a brick-red developing edge, the 2004 Dujac Échézeaux is beautiful in the glass: a wine that has aged with exceptional grace into something transparent and refined. The nose is a celebration of Dujac's whole-cluster philosophy: lifted red cherry, spice, and stem-driven herbal complexity that is entirely the estate's signature, alongside the silky aromatic texture born from 22 years of quiet development. The Échézeaux terroir contributes undergrowth and iron beneath the aromatics, and the lean 2004 vintage provided a vibrant acidity that keeps the wine fresh and energetic long past where a wine of different construction would have faded. On the palate the texture is silky, almost weightless in the way of great mature Burgundy, with the fruit now finely attenuated and the acidity providing structure rather than sharpness. Red cherry, dried herb, and mineral earth linger on the finish, which is long, delicate, and unmistakably Dujac. This is Échézeaux Grand Cru at its most transparent and intellectually engaging, showing why the whole-cluster approach has produced some of the most persistently age-worthy wines in Burgundy.
The 2004 vintage
The 2004 Burgundy growing season presented significant challenges for red wine producers across the Côte de Nuits. A cool summer followed by September rains diluted the potential of many vineyards, producing wines of lighter style and more modest concentration than the exceptional years immediately surrounding it. However, producers who worked with the vintage's natural character rather than against it found unexpected elegance and aromatic transparency in the leaner, cooler fruit. For Domaine Dujac, whose whole-cluster fermentation technique produces wines defined by aromatic lift and silky texture rather than density or weight, the 2004 conditions were particularly well-suited to the estate's style. The vintage's vibrant acidity has proved essential to the 2004 Dujac Échézeaux's aging trajectory, providing freshness and energy that has kept the wine vital into 2026, far longer than more extracted approaches to the same vintage achieved.
About Domaine Dujac
Domaine Dujac is one of Burgundy's most revered family estates, founded by Jacques Seysses in 1967 and now directed by Jeremy Seysses and his wife Diana Snowden Seysses. The estate's signature is whole-cluster fermentation used consistently across all appellations, producing wines of lifted aromatic transparency and silky texture that are distinctively different from the heavier extraction styles of many Côte de Nuits peers. Dujac holds grand cru acreage across Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Vosne-Romanée, with the Échézeaux holdings among its most coveted. Jeremy Seysses has continued the whole-cluster approach while introducing biodynamic farming practices, further deepening the wines' transparency to site and vintage.
From the cellar: pair with
Roast Chicken with Wild Mushroom Stuffing
The 2004 Dujac Échézeaux's delicate, silky character and whole-cluster herbal complexity find their ideal partner in simple roast chicken with wild mushrooms, the wine's vibrant acidity and cherry-herb finish echoing through the earthy stuffing.
Poached Salmon with Pinot Noir Beurre Rouge
The 2004 Échézeaux's pale garnet color, silky texture, and vibrant acidity make it one of the rare great Burgundies suited to salmon, where the wine's delicate fruit and whole-cluster herbal notes harmonize with the fish rather than overwhelming it.
Aged Comté with Fig Preserve
The 2004 Dujac Échézeaux's transparent, fruit-forward character at 22 years of age finds a quiet and elegant complement in aged Comté, where the wine's fine acidity and mineral character provide counterpoint without competing with the cheese's complexity.
Service & cellaring
- Serving Temp
- 59-62F (15-17C)
- Decanting
- Decant 30 to 45 minutes in 2026. This wine is near the end of its peak and fully developed - it needs only brief aeration to open the aromatic complexity rather than an extended decant. Pour gently and serve immediately after aeration to catch the wine at its finest. Avoid holding in a decanter beyond 60 minutes.
- Cellar Storage
- 55F (13C), 60-70% humidity, bottle on its side.
The drinking window on this bottle is calculated with the Cellared Ageability Index (CAI) v1.0, a 10-factor model. Try the free drinking window calculator on any wine, or read when to drink wine for the practical signals.
More from Flagey-Échézeaux
Frequently Asked
URGENT: Should I open my 2004 Dujac Échézeaux now?
Yes, immediately. The peak window closes in 2028 and you have 2 years remaining. After 19 years at peak, this wine is at complete development and will not improve with further cellaring. Open every remaining bottle between now and 2028 - 2026 and 2027 are the ideal years to experience it at its finest. Hard decline begins in 2037, so the wine will not fall off a cliff in 2028, but the peak window is the right time and it is almost closed.
Why is the 2004 Dujac Échézeaux still drinking well at 22 years?
Two factors: Dujac's whole-cluster fermentation and the vintage's natural acidity. Whole-cluster fermentation produces wines of exceptional aromatic transparency and silky texture that age with unusual grace, often outlasting more extracted approaches from the same vintage. The 2004 Burgundy season's cool conditions and vibrant acidity have provided the energy to keep the wine fresh and vital at 22 years where heavier-intervention wines from the same year may have faded. Together these make the 2004 Dujac one of the more age-worthy expressions of a difficult vintage.
What is Dujac's whole-cluster approach and what does it do to the wine?
Whole-cluster fermentation means the entire grape bunch, including stems, is fermented together without destemming. The stems contribute tannin of a different quality from skin tannin - finer, silkier, more herbal - along with lifted aromatic complexity and natural preservative compounds that extend aging potential. Dujac uses this technique consistently across all appellations, producing a recognizable house style of aromatic transparency and silky texture. In difficult vintages like 2004, the whole-cluster approach suits the leaner, cooler fruit particularly well.
How does the 2004 Dujac Échézeaux compare to the 2009, 2013, and 2019 vintages?
All four vintages of the Dujac Échézeaux are published on cellared.ai. The 2009 and 2019 are from richer, warmer vintages and show denser fruit and more weight. The 2013 is from a vintage of elegant, pure fruit similar in spirit to the 2004. The 2004 is unique in its translucent delicacy and the near-weightless texture that comes from a cool vintage and 22 years of development - it is the most ethereal of the four and the one with the most immediate urgency to open.