2006 Richebourg

Smoky pungency mingles with dark berry concentrates and bitter-sweet floral essences on the nose of the Leroy 2006 Richebourg. This Pinot strides magisterially onto the palate, with obvious firmness and depth of tannic tread, but at the same time a plush wealth of sweet black fruits that overrides the tannins and makes for a surprisingly soothing impression. Crushed stone and roasted meats add authority to a long finish in which rather obvious tannins returned. Somehow, the character of the vintage seems to suit the Romanee-St.-Vivant better than it does this Richebourg. But it's early days, especially for a wine of such sweetness of fruit, muscularity, and sheer extract as this. Furthermore, it's hard for me to discount the possibility that the unexpected and slightly awkward reappearance of tannins in the finish here might be a function of temporary perturbation or Burgundian Pinot moodiness. The results achieved by Lalou Bize-Leroy in 2006 are all the more notable in view of the misgivings she expressed early on about this vintage. (And, as her reaction to 2004 demonstrates, she will not shy away from declassifying even her entire production if she feels that the wines are not up to their terroir pedigrees.) As voluptuously rich as are Bize-Leroy's 2006 reds, they preserve the sense of buoyancy and elegance common to so many of the standouts of this vintage, and one's gums will not come away fatigued by the strength of underlying tannin or the near-hyper-concentration displayed by her – to be sure awesome – 2005s. As every year, these wines represent meticulous vine manicure; miniscule yields ("above all regulated by severe pruning, not triage," Bize-Leroy emphasizes); and fidelity to biodynamic methods and metaphysics; and were bottled in the second December following the harvest. Despite their winsomeness, they have long life expectancies. Since, however, I have very little experience of their predecessors as they have matured, I have confined my prognostication to a few isolated and very general comments in the tasting notes that follow. Note that I have included as well under the heading "Leroy" the wines of Madame Bize-Leroy's Domaine d'Auvenay – its cellars located outside Saint-Romain – which now encompass two appellations in red, since inevitably when information is being sought about these wines, and even often when they are described, it is under the name "Leroy." Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040