2010 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru 1x750ml

Vinous 94+

Very good deep red. Much more austere on the nose than the Romanee-Saint-Vivant, hinting at dark fruits, menthol and violet. Then splendidly rich but backward, boasting obvious saline minerality but hiding more than it’s showing today. Substantial dusty but refined tannins saturate the mouth on the very long, subtle, firmly structured back end. Perhaps the least sweet of these 2010s today; I note that this wine was similarly inscrutable from barrel a year ago. [Stephen Tanzer, 01/03/2013]

Robert Parker 94

The Richebourg was served prior to the Romanee-St Vivant as it has been done for the last two or three years. It was picked between 23rd and 25th September, the earliest of the Grand Crus (excepting the Corton.) It has a slight softness to the nose, like resting your head on a pillow of raspberry, cranberry leaf and wild strawberry. These scents are infused with touches of sage, incense and even a suggestion of Seville orange marmalade. It is a complex bouquet, perhaps more convincing than either the 2008 or 2009. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm, masculine structure on the entry, the tannins framing crisp red and black fruit entwined with a persuasive earthiness. This is a more brooding, introspective Richebourg, which is how it should be at this stage, but there is more substance on the finish that I feel has occasionally been lacking in recent vintages. Perhaps it could benefit from a little more tension on the finish, which drifts a little, but otherwise this is a sound Richebourg that will repay a decade in the cellar. Total production is 943 cases. Tasted January 2013. [01/01/2013]