2001 Richebourg

The 2001 Richebourg Grand Cru from Anne Gros has a well defined, comparatively voluptuous nose thanks to the layering of new oak, but the wood is enmeshed within the fruit and maintains a very sensual purity, not masking the pinoté as I suspect it did in its formative years. The aromatics need time to open, but it is worth the wait. The palate is medium-bodied, very well balanced, supple and rounded - a texture that belies the backbone and structure within. It is a plush take on Richebourg, a style synonymous with Anne Gros, and here it works extremely well, especially considering that 2001 was not a top-grade Burgundy vintage. Chapeau Anne!

This has arrived at that stage where it's not longer completely primary but neither has it fully transitioned over to being fully secondary either. The black and dark pinot fruit aromas also display notes of earth and spice while leading to intense| round and substantial broad-shouldered flavors that possess a discreet minerality on the deliciuos and velvety finish that exudes breed and unmistakable class. While this could certainly be enjoyed with 30 minutes or so of air| it is still on the way up and for my preferences| I would be inclined to give it another 5 years or so in the cellar first.

Good full red. Precise aromas of cassis, violet, blood orange and sweet oak. Rich, sweet and oaky but also sharply delineated and pristine, with vivid flavors of raspberry, minerals and blood orange. Less sexy and spicy in the middle today than the Clos Vougeot, and a bit more obviously tannic on the back end, but this finishes sweet and very long. The wine's firm spine calls for six or seven years of cellaring.