Meo Camuzet Richebourg Grand Cru

Planted during the 1950's, this grand cru vineyard regularly produces small grapes, perfect examples of Pinot fin. It is not particularly precocious and likes to take its time to mature; a characteristic which can also be found in the cask, once the wine has been made! The grapes present a fine balance between sugar and acids, certainly at the origin of this appellation's character.

The estate possesses about three quarters of an acre in "les Verroilles” plus a tenth of an acre in "les Richebourg”, just below "Cros Parantoux” . The vines are oriented principally towards the east, and they are characterised by being planted in rows running north-south - a protection during hot years. Generally speaking, the site is fairly cool.

Winemaker notes

Richebourg is a king of a wine: the Colonnade of the Louvre, the Château of Versailles. You are impressed by its finesse, its length and its delicate sensations, endlessly changing. The fact that no element dominates the others enables you to appreciate all of its aromas, on the nose and on the palate. Force and subtlety in one wine?

2021

Burghound 94-96: This is also quite restrained and requires aggressive swirling to reveal the gorgeously spicy and beautifully layered nose of cool but ripe aromas of violets, plum and exotic tea. Here too there is impressive volume to the full-bodied and opulently rich mineral-driven flavors that are blessed with a similar abundance of mouth coating sap that imparts a velvety mouthfeel and buffers the very firm tannic spine supporting the strikingly long and balanced finish. This muscular effort is terrific though like the Cros Parantoux, a wine that is going to need extended patience.

Wine Advocate 93-95: The 2021 Richebourg Grand Cru wafts from the glass with aromas of cherries and sweet berries mingled with hints of rose petals, spices, vine smoke and toasty new oak. Full-bodied, rich and layered, it's fleshy and concentrated, with supple tannins, lively acids and a long, expansive finish.

Decanter 96: The Méo-Camuzet Richebourg showed abundant, silky sweet fruit in the 2021 vintage, with notes of pomegranate and raspberry, a hint of mineral and some smoke. It is a very pretty wine on the initial attack, and the wine is balanced and elegant. Méo has switched his oak program up: he dries the staves for three years and uses light toast almost everywhere. The effect is very elegant, even if here I can’t help feeling that it lacks a bit of substance in comparison to previous vintages, and that it will be ready to drink sooner than some.