richebourg 1972 – domaine charles viénot

23.3.2013billn

charles-vienot-1972-richbourg

Back to being predictable, another red, another 1972. But one with a bit of interest attached… 😉

Charles Viénot is largely remembered as a négoce operation, but like many of today’s négoce, they also had a sizeable ownership of vines too, including vines in Richebourg. Indeed a cursory scan of this label says ‘Négociant à Premeaux par Nuits St.Georges’, but a small addition to the capsule reads that they also have the monopoly of selling the Domaine Charles Viénot wines – such as this one. The Viénot estate was wound up in the 1980s, these particular vines, planted around 1930, were bought and shared by Domaines Jean Grivot and Jean Mongeard.

1972 Charles Viénot, Richebourg
It is a rare thing for the aroma in the neck of a newly uncorked old bottle to be anything other than faintly repulsive – but here we have a gorgeous, pure wild strawberry note – how did that happen? I anyway follow my normal routine with older bottles, I clean up the neck of the bottle and pop a glass stopper in, leaving the wine for a couple of hours before pouring a measure. Clear, medium, medium-plus colour with that indeterminate older colour. The nose is just a hint more reticent than at first – darker and deeper but with a beautiful mid-tone ‘gloss’, swirling brings out a more earthy aspect. Silky smooth, the acidity slowly asserting itself – maybe with a faint hint of bitterness – but a gorgeous slowly growing climax of mid-palate flavour. Long, mineralic and earthy finishing but sweetly so. About as good a ’72 as I ever had…
Rebuy – No Chance

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