Manufacturer:Domaine Romanee Conti
Romanee Conti Richebourg 2001
Item No.: 31
- Region:
- Bourgogne
- Type:
- Red
- Category:
- Rom. Conti Richebourg
- Manufacturer:
- Domaine Romanee Conti
- Vintage:
- 2001
- Alcohol Volume:
- 13%
- Color:
- Red
- Unit Size:
- 750 ml,
- Price:
- € 1000.00
Viticulture and winemaking
The domaine's vineyards are managed with a large nod to biodynamic principles and organic agriculture, with tractors recently being replaced by horses to reduce the compaction of soil. Yields are very low, at around 25hl/hectare, and they harvest the grapes later than most vineyards in Burgundy.
Minimum intervention in the winery allows an entirely natural vinification. There is no de-stalking of the grapes, which undergo a very long cuvaison - up to a month - and fermentation is carried out at relatively low temperatures.
The Domaine has its private supply of oak from the Troncais forests. 100% new oak is used and maturation time depends on the quality of the vintage. New oak is used to eliminate any possibility of contamination which might result from older casks, and to marry the unique qualities of the fruit. There is no filtration and if racking off the lees is required this is done by gravity from cask to cask, never pumped. If the wines need to be fined, then fresh eggs are used. The wines spend sixteen to twenty months in wood before bottling. Both assemblage and bottling are done by gravity and usually cask by cask.
The Vine
Deep red. Multifaceted, very pure, very ripe nose of cassis, licorice, minerals and smoked meat. Then vibrant but tight and closed, showing considerably less volume today than the Romanee Saint-Vivant. Tannins are fine but youthfully austere, as there's less buffering mid-palate sweetness here. Inscrutable at present, but does not seem to be as exceptional in the context of the cru as the RSV. De Villaine ventured the opinion that La Tache and Richebourg are the most closed today among the estate's bottlings, noting that Richebourg has a higher percentage of younger vines and thus a less creamy texture.
Richebourg
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Vineyard holding: 3.51 hectares (8.6 acres)
Average age of vines: 42 years
Average production: 1,000 cases