16 Vintages of Meo-Camuzet Richebourg

The Line-Up

Bouilland, France, 22 November 2011:  It was a great privilege for me to take part in this spectacular tasting of 16 vintages of Richebourg from the domaine of Méo-Camuzet, alongside serious Burgundian experts as well as Jean-Nicolas himself from the domaine. Becky and Russell very kindly allowed us to organise this tasting in their homely farmhouse so that we could effortlessly move into the dining area after tasting to indulge ourselves over a most delicious buffet of peat-infused smoked salmon, ham, roast pork and salad, prepared by Russell, plus a few magnums.  It has become a bit of a tradition for us: there's the year-long preparation in making sure there would be as few gaps as possible in the line-up, the heightened anticipation of how the wine would show, and the opportunity of being able to discuss the wines with so many Burgundy lovers and experts during the tasting.  Russell very sweetly said that every time we turned up, he knew that Christmas would be a bit closer!
We were very lucky with the bottles……all of them were presented in perfect condition and only one managed to disappoint us with cork taint. Jasper, who kindly organised the bottles in the right chronological order and prepared the tasting sheets, remarked, “Well, these bottles are running out of time to spring any surprises on us!”, after pulling the cork of the 12th bottle (starting from the youngest).

Etienne Camuzet was deputé for the Côte d’Or from 1902 to 1932. He purchased some significant vineyard holdings as well as the Château de Clos de Vougeot, which he later gave to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. Upon his death, his vineyard holdings passed to his daughter, Maria Noirot, who died childless, and subsequently to a distant relative, Jean Méo in 1959. At this time, the vineyards were looked after by sharecroppers, notably Henri Jayer, and the wine sold off in bulk. Domaine bottling began in 1985. Jean-Nicolas took over in 1989. The domaine’s 0.35 ha holding of Richebourg is situated at the top of Les Verroilles.

I think it would be fair to say that it was a very rare occasion to be able to taste all these vintages in one go and that we would generally concur that that the wines showed much consistency in style over the years (since Jean-Nicolas took over) and they all demonstrated true vintage characteristics.



Jean-Nicolas diligently writing his tasting notes

 So here they are and my impressions of them:

2006 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Still very youthful. Quite closed on the nose. Spicy red fruit and floral. Nicely structured and in total harmony, but lacked concentration and depth for me. Good length. Drink from 2014+. 17/20

2005 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Purity, concentration, intensity and much depth of character. Ripe wildberries, plum, violet, spicy and with plenty of minerality. The wine expands on the mid-palate, leading to a seriously long finish. A very serious wine, skilfully crafted, with a very long life ahead. Drink from 2018+. 19.5/20

2004 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: This bottle has evolved much more than expected. Typicity of the vintage is evident: slight stalky, herbaceous character, underlying the red cherry, spicy, dried rose petal and gamey (animale) notes. Lighter frame than the others and slightly weaker on the palate (vintage characteristics), but the skill of the winemaker is definitely evident – well balanced acidity and mellow tannin. Very enjoyable with food. Drink now and for next 8 – 10 years. 15.5/20

2003 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Another challenging vintage. This time the heatwave across Europe. Again bravo to Jean-Nicolas, in avoiding the excessive jammy character seen in some less skilfully made wines from this vintage. Dark fruit, just a hint of burnt blackberry preserve, Asian spice, starting to show some gamey notes. Firm ripe tannin balanced by fresh acidity. A bold and structured wine, but very stylish and elegantly crafted. (I also really like his Clos de Vougeot, but Jean-Nicolas said, for him, his Cros Parantoux would be his best wine from this vintage.) 16.5/20

2002 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: A garnet core. An alluring bouquet of farmyard, red cherry, coffee and leather, and plenty of minerality. Beautiful long finish, with a sweet aftertaste. Very typical of vintage. Love the acidity here. Great to drink now, but will continue to evolve over next 10 – 15 years, with a long life ahead. 18/20

2001 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: More evolved than expected. Asian spice, cherry, rose petal, coffee, leather, with the unmistakable farmyard and wet saddle character. Elegant and mellow, but lacking in intensity for me. Drinking beautifully now and for next 10 – 12 years with good cellaring. 17/20

1999 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Slightly reduced at the beginning. Still very closed. Rather austere, still rather wound-up within a tight girdle. All the elements beautifully integrated though and it would turn out to be a gorgeous wine. Drink 2015+. 17.5+/20

1998 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Manure, red cherry, toasty, spicy and mineral. Chewy and broadly structured, succulent, full of energy and tension. Great aromatics and phenomenal equilibrium. The finish goes on and on. Drink now and for next 15 – 20 years. (I like this wine very much!!) 19/20

1996 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Rusty nail at the beginning….on the palate, more red fruit and spice. Weaker middle palate for me….and a drying finish. The tannin still resolving itself…not quite integrated. Drink now and for next 8 - 10 years? 16/20

1995 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: A rich and mature bouquet of farmyard, plum, Asian spice and leather. Stylish, with a lot of poise and character. Great acidity and a remarkably long finish. Drink now and for next 10 – 15 years. 17.5/20

1993 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Show-stopper classic beauty. Savoury, animale, cherry, plum, pot pourri. Perfumed, silky, totally seductive, with just the right amount of nervosity to keep it tasting fresh. This is drinking at peak now and will continue to drink beautifully for another 20+ years. Simply stunning. 19/20

1991 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Coffee, redcurrant, floral, plenty of minerality. Very sophisticated and harmonious, with a very endearing sweet finish. Not quite at peak yet…drink now and for next 20+ years. There is a chance this could eclipse the 1993! 19/20

1990 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: A bit more density, weightier on the palate. I feel that this wine has more concentrated ripe fruit, energy and intensity on the palate, which I like, but perhaps less of the finesse that was seen in the 1991 and 1993. Minerality, dark fruit, savoury and violet. This will continue to evolve for a while….perhaps 5+ years before reaching peak with a long life ahead? Excellent with food. 18.5+/20

1989 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: Gracefully aged beauty, holding together very well in total harmony! Leather, gamey, minerality, rose petal. Slightly drying sensation on palate, but very very long finish. Drink now. 18/20

1988 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: the corked bottle of the flight!

1985 Richebourg, Méo-Camuzet: funky nose, coffee, caramel, something liquorice and herbal like, like that cough candy Ricola. Silky tannin, still nicely structured. May already be well on its path of slow decline. Drink now, with no further improvement. 15/20

All the wines showed tremendously well and it really was hard to score them not within a point or two of each other. I took a vote from some of our friends who were just amateurs like ourselves and the clear favourites were: 1991, 1996, 1995 and 2005. And I happened to favour the dark horses of 1998 and 1990!

Over lunch, we had 5 magnums plus a bottle of 2003 Chambolle Musigny Premier Cru, Comte Georges de Vogüé that was brought to us by Jean-Luc. The 5 magnums were 2005 Bâtard-Montrachet, Ramonet, 2000 Meursault Perrières, Roulot, 1989 Clos de La Roche Cuvée William, Ponsot, 1989 Chambertin, Rousseau and 1988 Chambertin, Rousseau. Sadly I was so behind with the drinking that I didn’t get round to taste the Meursault Perrières that was kindly contributed by Anthony, but I was assured by everyone that it was sensational. There seemed to be an equal number of people who preferred the 1988 to the 1989 Chambertin, to those who preferred the 1989 over the 1988. I liked the energy, power and acidity of the 1989 but I also admired the 1988 for the complexity, finesse and harmony. The 1989 Ponsot seemed a little subdued on this occasion.

Now, it's time to start planning for next year's tasting!