In a Galaxy Far, Far Away - Richebourg !

AC and JC, who are the most generous wine loving couple in all of British Columbia, thought it was time to “let the dogs out”, and in this case the dogs were a smorgasbord of Richebourg wines. Bon Vivant catering provided a sensational galaxy of fantastic food to match with these incredible wines-the food highlight for me being the killer Duck Prosciutto Salad and a Deconstructed Coq au Vin that were both otherworldly. Two Montrachets,17 Richebourg’s and a magnum of 1977 Dow’s port were served on this remarkable evening-with social distancing and all appropriate precautions taken (welcome to Covid folks) for those lucky few who got ready to rumble on a Thursday evening in July-and what a Richebourg wine rumble it was.

Montrachets prior to 1995 can be Sensational Long term Bottles!

• 1989 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Purchased on release from LDBBC. Darkening yellow colour with a herb, crushed gravel and flint air about it. The palate was that of a large prize fighter entering the arena with huge thick lanolin and stunning subterranean citrus and peaches. Baguette flavours expanded on the back end, which was still fresh at 31 years and lingered endlessly. A subtle smoky botrytis finish added to the Monty experience by wrapping the olfaction for 5 minutes. Wow!

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• 1985 Louis Jadot Le Montrachet 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Purchased on release from Sam’s in Chicago. Deep yellow with rich, ample nose of subtle vanilla with a sliver of mango. Thick, intense peach, Koru apple and almond on the palate with vast structure reserve and wonderful grip. Currently delicious with a croissant finish, and in this format - good for another 10 years easy. Gotta love those big boy whites with bottle age from the 80’s, before the pre-mox crisis flummoxed a generation of wine makers.

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Richebourg without Stems !

• 2014 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Darkest red of the 8 Meo-Richebourg’s enjoyed this evening from a rather middle weight vintage. Geographically located mostly in Veroilles au Richebourg, with an austere spicy earl grey nose - slapped with some frankincense - very consistent with the birthplace of these vines. Very tight palate of low bush lingonberries, with no herbaceous stemmy elements as evidenced in other producers using whole cluster fermentation. This brooding violet nosed elixir , with a gorgeous balanced finish- needs to slumber for another 15 years to allow time for the fireworks to evolve in the glass.

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• 2012 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Moderate ruby colour that was initially closed but with one hour in the glass and acrobatic glass movement -there were shades of bergamot and white alpine strawberries. Palate tight and full with a partridgeberry finish that lingered onto the back end for 60 seconds. This needs at least 10 years to mature into a big pants spicy Vosne Grand Cru to arm wrestle over.

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• 2010 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Mild ruby colour with a faint crushed cloves and structured red fruit palate - exploding into a legendary tundra lingonberry finish that lingers endlessly on the palate. This requires 5 more sleep years, or a three hour decant - to civilize this legend in the making.

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• 2009 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Dark ruby colour in this low acid year. Subtle red currant nose with mid palate grip in spades, morphing into a ripe, tight tayberry finish. Very approachable at this juncture and threatening to be scrumptiously delicious. Silky and irresistible in this flight of rarefied superstars, with great aging potential as these clusters mostly derived from Veroilles au Richebourg, yet overall seems more like a les Richebourg origin ….considering the size of this balanced bruiser!

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• 2008 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Medium ruby color with varmland strawberries and star anise on a very subtle nose. Acidity powering through freshly picked cranberries with a dollop of rhubarb midpalate that goes deep on a vibrant finish. Okay now but riveting in another 5 years.

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• 2007 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light ruby with blabar jam and a whiff of medium toast oak on the nose. Approachable now in this less than stellar year-yet palate boldly expansive with Morello cherries and slightly herbal mid palate (perhaps due to less than usual phenolic ripeness). Intense velvet finish with a dash of fennel seed and bergamot to keep you coming back to the glass. Ready to roll now but no where near as big and brash as the 2009!

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• 2006 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light ruby with huckleberry and dark toast on the nose. Smoky loganberries on the long structured palate , with a silky finish supercharged with a splash of nutmeg and galangal. This is well ready to breach and enjoy now-yet secondary flavours in another 10 years would gild this up a notch!

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• 1995 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light red with crushed Utah Giant cherries and medium toast on the nose. Palate tight but after an hour in the glass revealed a complex regal mélange of structured crushed cranberries with a long gorgeous finish slapped with five spice powder. Tough long distance vintage just starting to spread it’s wings so you can see what’s shaking inside.

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Richebourg with stems!

• 2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light red colour with mild blackberry and a drizzle of galangal on the nose. Palate moderate mid-palatal grip with ripe Stella cherries slapped with strong savoury notes of Provençal garrigue and sautéed orange peppers (no doubt due to whole cluster fermentation perhaps compounding the rainy vintage ). Finishes with sour Balaton cherries and some whiffs of Koikuchi soy sauce. Can be enjoyed now but better in 5 years.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Darkest red of 7 DRC Richebourg’s tasted at this incredible dinner event - with mild raspberry and nutmeg on the nose. Moderate mid-palatal grip with fleshy cranberries melding into a mild herbaceous rose petal finish painted with subtle Guk-ganjang soy and bergamot. Enjoyable now but better in 5-10 years.

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• 2005 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Medium red colour with nose mute at first. After 2 hours and aerial acrobatics with the glass, a Scentimental Rose fragrance appeared with star anise and blueberries. Thundering mid-palatal grip with Tayberries and intense structured Arctic Cranberries and no evidence of stems as so described in countless recent tasting notes. One wonders about the storage or authenticity of bottles so tasted, as this original purchase bottling clearly demonstrates that these stems as part of the whole cluster fermentation were perfectly mature-or the fruit was so massive that any “stemminess” was easily sidelined by the caliber of the fruit in this celebrated vintage. Ethereal finish of Montmorency cherries with a hint of Saishikomi soy. Closed now but wish I had 3 cases of this impressive elixir to enjoy in 15 years, when it’s open for business, with my son Thor who was born in 2005.

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• 2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light colour with a feral black currant, coffee bean and asparagus nose. Palate an overwhelming savoury herbaceousness suppressing a subtle alpine strawberry base. So-called “‘green meenies” are in the room with this glass-first described in detail by Bill Nanson and this bottle nowhere near the affectations seen in 2004 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé bottles. Finish of tart cherries. Drinkable now, but one wonders if this palate killing crushed ladybug flavour will ever ameliorate?

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• 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 97 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Light ruby with resplendent Earl Grey tea, mandarin orange peel and red currants on the nose. Balanced mulberries and modest pungent herbs on the very long grippy flavour, with a palate staining finish of lapins cherries and Usukuchi soy. Enjoyable now due to the well integrated modest tannins, but better juice in 10 years when the whole cluster acerb dissipates - leaving powerful free and clear structured les Richebourg joy. After the 2005-my easy second favourite of this DRC Richebourg flight-and one to seek out!

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• 1998 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Medium ruby colour with cardamom and Goji berries on the nose. Mild savoury Provençal herbs and raspberries on the medium grip long palate, with a subtle harshness to a Mr. Lincoln rose petal finish. This is a big boy Rich-classic for its mostly les Richebourgs origins. Note that the whole cluster zip seems to sublimate at 22-30 years in these DRC beauties-dependent on the vintage and the real estate-some love the clusters-others not so much!

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• 1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Medium red with black currents and tart barren lands cranberries on the nose. Aubert du Villaine calls this a “north wind vintage” with a certain degree of austerity and indeed who has not waited for any GC 1996 and 1995 red burgs to come around. Structured steely red fruit palate seeing the DRC stems starting to dissipate now at 24 years and beginning to appear as a more Veroilles au Richebourg origin (which it is mostly not). Could be opened now but smart money would wait another 10-15 years to see if secondary flavours will start creeping in, before the fruit fades…..Fingers crossed it could turn into an outrageously spectacular Richebourg

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A little of this and that !

• 2005 Thibault Liger-Belair Richebourg 98 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Very deep burgundy colour in glass with a sensational primary nose of blackberries and lingonberry. At a comparative tasting of Meo-Camuzet and DRC Richebourgs with this TLB more mid-palatal grip than the Meo’s, but substantially less than the DRC. None of the herbal garrigue characters that come with whole cluster fermentation as evidenced in the DRC, as this seems to be more opulent at this stage than the Meo’s, with so much silky fruit-that it was almost California like in the finish. Consistent with the geographic location in les Richebourg, at 15 years acting as a gorgeous big boy with the killer nose and no where near ready to test drive for another 10 years.

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• 1999 Domaine A.-F. Gros Richebourg 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  Anne Francois vines located in Veroilles au Richebourg, and very dark ruby colour in this fantastic vintage at 21 years of age. Substantially greater mid palatal grip than a Meo Richebourg tasted along side , but less so than the range of DRC Richebourg’s enjoyed at the same dinner. Chalky cranberry palate with no evidence of herbaceous stemminess from whole cluster fermentation as seen in the DRC’s-with a long regal finish as seen in so many of these spicy GC’s from this powerful vintage.

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Who doesn't love a magnum of Port?

• 1977 Dow Porto Vintage 94 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Medium amber with sun dried figs and bergamot on the nose. Balanced alcohol/acid with a powerful silky sweet mélange of stewed Damson plums, candied dried Stella cherries and dark Valrhona chocolate on the palate that explodes out to an impressive resilient delectable finish!

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Conclusions following this decadent Richebourg evening are epic. We all know that the two distinct climats of the Richebourg vineyard ( at least in theory due to variations on a theme of exposure, elevation, soil, wind, etc) can allow us to enjoy two distinct styles of wine from this hallowed property. It seems that the technical individuality of each wine maker may have a bigger influence than terroir on the specific Richebourg that you are being served, and for this dinner/tasting this was critically apparent. Two distinct factions emerged. DRC, with varying percentages of whole cluster fermentation, has a style that perpetrates impressive grip to the wines at the midpalate. Further, the DRC wines in their youth tend towards a herbaceous stemmy component that starts to dissipate from the tasting profile 20-30 years from birth. Meo-Camuzet, following the glorious Henri Jayer’s teaching, gets the stems out from the get go. As a consequence the mid-palate heft of those wines is less, and there is not a stemmy flavour anywhere in sight. Two very different styles and I would recommend collecting both to decide which side of the stems you are on ! Liger-Belair and A.F. Gros fall somewhere between the two extremes of Meo and DRC-and individual preferences will rule the day. All of these wines need 20 years to enjoy them-and probable 30-40 years to become religious obsessions in your cellar. Quite a remarkable tasting with special thanks to AC and JC !!