Wine Advisor
Meo Camuzet, Richebourg Grand Cru 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2010 Richebourg shows off considerable vibrancy and sheer tannic heft. A core of dark red fruit drives through the mid-palate as this energetic, vibrant wine opens up in the glass. The wine turns layered and finessed on the finish, with piercing mineral notes that add a crystalline purity that is striking. Patience will be key here. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045. Jean-Nicolas Meo was away on the day of my visit, so I tasted with assistant winemaker Peer Reiss. The harvest started on September 22 and took about ten days to complete. Overall, I am a big fan of the 2010s here. Although I did not get a chance to taste the 2009s from bottle, my notes suggest 2010 will turn out to be the more interesting vintage. The Meo-Camuzet negociant wines are reviewed separately. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524
About the Producer
Founded in the early 20th Century by Etie, Méo-Camuzet is one of the figureheads of Vosne-Romanée as well as an old family of the village. Back in 1920, founder Etienne Camuzet acquired 3 hectares of the house's flagship Clos Vougeot as well as the Château itself before donating it to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. After WWII, the estate came to the management of Jean Méo who had agreements with vintners managing the vineyards and making the wines, the most famous of which was Henri Jayer. In 1983, the estate started to bottle some of its fruits under its own label and the sharecropping agreements eventually came to an end in 1988 when Jean-Nicolas Méo took over the management of the 17.2-hectare property. The meticulous work in the vineyard involves bud pruning in spring, careful trellising to ensure an optimal leaf exposure to sunlight as well as aeration of the bunches and green harvest may be performed if necessary. After harvest bunches are de-stemmed before a 3-5 days cold maceration prior to fermentation. The wines are then matured in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months before bottling. The winemaking aims at preserving the fruit purity to craft smoothly grained, profound wines with complex aromatics and silky textures. In order to ensure the quality acquired in the vineyard and revealed in the cellar is bottled unspoilt, the wines are not filtered. Jean-Nicolas Méo is also involved in a négociant activity which sources and vinifies grapes from vineyards managed by the estate before bottling them under the "Frère & Soeur" label. The attention to detail in the vineyards and the winery is the same as for the estate and allows the family to produce a wider range of appellation in lesser-known Côte de Nuits villages such as Marsannay or Fixin offering a great entry point to the wines of the domaine. Since 2011, this superb portfolio now comprises the first ever Grand Cru white produced by Méo-Camuzet: a Corton-Charlemagne.
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