Wine Advisor
Jean Grivot, Richebourg Grand Cru 2006
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
Grivot's 2006 Richebourg unsurprisingly displays a richness, meaty substantiality, and carnal depth that go beyond the other wines in his current collection. Peat, myriad tobaccos, black tea, roasted game, faded lilies, toasted praline, and dark fungal and forest floor elements kaleidoscopically scent the nose, and carry onto a sumptuously-, silkenly-textured, wet stone-lined, yet juicy, buoyant, and dynamic palate. While this wine is not about fruits and berries, it offers black cherries and purple plums to spare. The finish here perpetuates the seemingly paradoxical alliance of grip with levity; caress with vibrancy; and concentration with elegance that characterize many of the finest wines of the vintage. Grivot tasted it with me for the first time after bottling and remarked that he was amazed at what it had gained – not to mention how little if anything it had lost – in the process. You could safely plan on following this masterpiece for 15-20 years. "For me, the virtues of 2006 are freshness, reflection of terroir, minerality, and enormous vinosity. It is an accessible vintage," says Etienne Grivot, quickly signifying that "accessible" should on no account be taken pejoratively, or as excluding cerebral appeal. His aim to reinforce these characteristics by very gentle extraction has proven highly successful. Grivot says that since his experience in 2004 he is determined to chaptalize only extremely lightly – to extend fermentations a bit – if at all, because he believes that depressing finished levels of alcohol will other things being equal promote more expressive and elegant wines. He finds the frequent comparisons of 2006 to a cross between 2000 and 2001 reasonably apt. Incidentally, prices dropped a bit here in the 2006 vintage, an especially welcome move when one considers the high quality of the wines, not to mention the prestige of this estate. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400
About the Producer
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle (Patrick Bize's sister) took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The Grivot family believes in generational change and in 2017, Étienne and Marielle’s daughter, Mathilde, took over for her parents. Mathilde brings a fresh approach while maintaining the longtime traditions of the Grivot family. The recently renovated winery and cellar is in Vosne-Romanée where most of the Grivot vineyards are located. The domaine has been assembled over several generations to its current size of 15.5 hectares and includes holdings in three grand crus: Clos de Vougeot, Echézeaux, and Richebourg. Mathilde believes in getting quality first thanks to meticulous vineyard work throughout the year. The result of this hard work is healthy, ripe (both phenolic and sugar levels) and depth of concentration and flavor of the fruit. Today, the vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification,” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir. The grapes are entirely destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The fermentation starts naturally, with a little punching down before this fermentation begins. There is no more pigeage after fermentation begins, “I don’t like to mix the physical (punching down) with the spiritual (fermentation),” said Étienne. After fermentation, the wines are pumped over once a day before aging in barrel for 15 months. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 25% for the villages appellations, 30-40% for the premier crus and 40-45% percent for the grands crus.
