Richebourg

Fractionally firmer colour than Romane-St-Vivant. In line with the vintage there is a brooding quality to the nose which slowly opens up to reveal a characteristic dark, meaty black fruited perfume, a subdued flamboyance with a touch of the exotic. Lush, generous and sweet on the palate, there is also a harmony of structure, fine concentration and superb length.

Deep ruby, almost opaque. The nose is subdue at first, lightly perfumed with plummy, dusty fruit with hints only of super ripe fruit. The palate by contrast is massive, sumptuous even, with sweet, velvety fruit, a supple, rich, broad-shouldered structure and an extraordinarily powerful and sustained finish. Magnificent. From 2010.

Glowing imperial purple and with a sense of judicious majesty on the nose, there is a touch of cinnamon spice but otherwise it is heady glowing magical dark raspberry fruit. Very splendid, a very worthy Grand Cru.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The harvest began here on 5th October, with acceptable yields in the Côte de Nuits. Mathieu and his father opted for a shorter vinification time this year, with minimal punching down. They do feel though that the wines can support a little more new wood.

Just under half the vineyard (3.51 hectares out of 8.03) belongs to Domaine de la Romanée Conti, spread over several plots. This is always a robust wine, deeper in colour than the Romanée St Vivant but not necessarily as elegant. The vines currently average 45 years old. About a third of the holding remained in ungrafted vines until 1946, with two cuvees being produced – a regular Richebourg and a version labelled Richebourgs Vieux Cépages. When these vines were grubbed up and replanted after the Second World War, cuttings were taken from La Romanée Conti which was also being replanted.

Glowing an alluring ruby purple colour, this Richebourg is showing very little on the nose, the fruit not yet ready to emerge from its cocoon. Although the flavours may not be fully apparent, the texture of the wine demonstrates its quality, with a coating of plush velvet covering the palate. The structural elements of acidity and tannin are present but submerged by the wealth of fruit. Two minutes after spitting an extraordinary perfume rises up. Tuck this infant away safely in the cellar for a number of years.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

There is a marvellous sense of energy in Thibault Liger-Belair’s 2010 wines, perhaps his finest vintage to date. This is a vintage where the wines express the characters of their terroirs very well. Thibault decided on a longer than usual vinification but with very little active extraction and fewer stems than in 2009. Where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton, Chambolle-Musigny) his team manages the vineyard work after the initial pruning.

Rich, glowing purple, with really vibrant heady red fruit, all tightly meshed. Explosive on the palate with a little touch of spice alongside the wealth of fruit. Pure and delicious.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The vintage began here on 6th October, once again being short on quantity but with good qualitative potential. Thibault feels that the 2013s can take a long barrel ageing, perhaps up to 24 months. He is using fewer lees, but finer, in order to avoid too many reductive problems.

With a wealth of fruit in the rich cherry style of the vintage, this Richebourg Grand Cru is very detailed with fruit, oak and mineral acidity all in balance. An exceptionally persistent finish denotes its quality. This will certainly repay keeping.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Burgundy Buyer)

This is a giant of a wine just waiting to come of age. For now the bouquet is quite discreet but the layers of flavour gradually emerge towards an immense finish, which demonstrates how great this wine will become in a decade or more.

This is still tight at present but there is a huge explosion of fruit at the front, even though it is hidden at the back. The excellent finish shows real intensity and class.
Jasper Morris MW,Berrys' Burgundy Director

• 2011 was a relatively easy year in the vineyards for Thibault, as there were no problems with health. The main decision was the date to pick (from 5th September) which he chose by leaf colour as an indication of the end of the vine cycle. He employed very gentle vinification this year to keep the fruit fresh. Thibault has been moving towards and elegant style, a little bit away from the plumpness of his early wines. He manages this through shrewd judgement on the use of stems and particular attention to the type and toasting of wood to be used. He is especially proud of his ‘tartare’ barrels with minimum toasting.

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