Triple Richebourg – nearly

First of all, this year has been a little different: For the very first time when tasting wines, when prompted with the thought ‘wait 10 years, better 15…‘ I’ve started calculating my own age in 15 years, and it takes me way past 3 score and ten! So I’ve started (roughly!) estimating how many bottles are in my cellar and even with an assumption that I will still be happily drinking at age 85, it seems that I have to drink 6 bottles every week for more than 20 years. Today I hardly drink 3 – and rarely actually finish any of those 3.

My cellar is intentionally an uncatalogued free-for-all: I love the intention of looking for bottle X but, by chance, first finding bottle Y – and drinking that instead. The Grivot in the image above was already standing in the cellar, waiting for Christmas, but I just happened on these other two when finding last week’s 2001 Bèze…

Just as I was partway through these bottles, I caught sight of note this week on the 99 Richebourg – brutal! So I put it back in the cellar for another 2-3 years – though my better half pointed out that maybe I shouldn’t be making plans for in 5 years(!!) so maybe I’ll open one anyway – as I do have more… 🙂

1974 du Clos Frantin, Richebourg
The domaine named after the parcel which is now called the Clos d’Eugénie – such a loss of history for this domaine. Plenty of black mold under the capsule. I opt for an Ah-So but the first touch of the prongs and the cork drops into the bottle – plop! I revert to a sieve and a carafe!
I didn’t dare properly smell the wine whilst filling the carafe but the colour and clarity were really not bad. Once in the glass – fresh, leafy though direct and a little metallic too – but really no faults – maybe the mold had made enough of a seal to keep the oxygen out !! In the mouth, a narrow, slightly mineral entry but then the wine widened out with good energy and many dimensions of sweet flavour. This was actually very tasty wine – to benchmark, honestly not better than a very good 2010 Chambolle 1er – but you enjoy it more when you take into account that it’s 50 years old and from a far from great vintage. Indeed all told, for the age and vintage this was still a great wine with such caveats in mind. I loved drinking three large glasses too. The tiny balsamic note from the first evening was hardly magnified on the second – not even even a trace of oxidation – given 24 hours in the carafe, and the age, what a robust performance!
Rebuy – No chance!

1985 François Gros, Richebourg
Bottle #79 of 320 – having previously drunk bottle #78 more than 10 years ago. Again with the Ah-So, this time a more robust but shockingly short cork.
Slightly less colour than the ’74. Cleaner smelling and similarly direct in character to the Frantin. A small but sweet start to these flavours and there’s extra structure visible too – but mild vs a 5-year-old villages! The middle flavours are a little more mineral but less ‘growing’ and less delicious too – it’s still very drinkable, but behind the ’74. A slight balsamic character – more than the 74 – but character is still an apt word for this performance. A long way from a great Richebourg – but still with the proper excitement of opening a 40-year-old wine. At roughly 30 years-old bottle 78 showed more oxidation – that’s old short corks for you – but at least this one didn’t fall into the bottle with the slightest touch!! Overall, I gave it to the Clos Frantin by a short head!
Rebuy – No Chance!