Winemaker Notes
Richebourg Grand Cru is typical of its climat. An accomplished wine with delicate peppery notes and ample tannins. This wine shows the power and strength of its lineage.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
No deeper in colour than the Romanée St-Vivant but expressing a fresher rim. Here there are so many waves of flavour and that sense of precision which indicates that the Richebourg transcends the gourmand style of the vintage. It is perfectly poised in ripeness, while the peonies and dark fruit complement the fresher red fruit, fresh white pepper behind, a wine in its infancy. Picked at the perfect moment. Exceptional length. In relation to their different appellations, this is my standout of the tasting.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Richebourg Grand Cru is a magical wine, even at this early stage, and it has amply realized all the potential it showed in barrel. Soaring from the glass with aromas of sweet wild berries, blood orange, Indian spices and rose petals, it's full-bodied, ample and velvety, with a sumptuous, enveloping core of vibrant fruit and a seamless, multidimensional profile. Revealing immense concentration, its chassis of perfectly ripe, refined tannins only makes itself felt on the finish, but its charm is deceptive, because this Richebourg is holding plenty in reserve for the future.
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Decanter
Asian spice notes intermingle with hints of fig, dark cherry and plum on the nose. A bit more generous than the Grands Echézeaux, with quite a broad, soft and voluptuous palate, kept in check by crisp acidity. Plenty of structure for longer ageing with fine tannins supporting the plush weight of dark fruit. This will come into its own with further ageing but seems like a slightly difficult teenager at the moment. DRC’s Richebourg comes from vines with an average age of 60 years, and a yield in 2019 of 21hl/ha.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
This is the village for the most die-hard Burgundy fanatics. Vosne-Romanée has for many hundreds of years been the source of the most sought-after Pinot Noir in Burgundy. The village claims six Grands Crus—and some of the most famous at that—but in other villages where owners manage tiny parcels or a few rows of any one vineyard, monopolies dominate the Grands Crus of Vosne-Romanee.
Of these monopolies, Domaine Romanee-Conti (DRC) reigns supreme, claiming not only more total vineyard area than any other producer, but outright owning the entirety of two of the Grands Crus and a majority of two others. In its full possession are naturally Romanée-Conti, as well as La Tâche. DRC also owns most of Richebourg and Romanée-St-Vivant. The final two, La Grande Rue and La Romanée are completely owned by other other produers: François Lamarche and Comte Liger Belair, respectively.
While one could spend a lifetime on the puzzles of land ownership in Burgundy, the point is that Vosne-Romanee contains the most valuable pieces of vineyard real estate in the world. Pinot Noir from any of its vineyards—especially from within its 27ha of Grand Cru or 58 ha of Premier Cru land—is going to rank among the best.
The most outstanding wines from this village have everything: finesse and elegance coupled with the body and sturdiness for incredibly long aging ability. They are intensely floral and exotically spiced. Beautifully ripe, complex and ephemeral throughout, they are robust, yet fine-grained in texture. These wines will stay gorgeous for the long haul.