2008 Richebourg

Medium red, a bit less saturated than the Clos Vougeot. Deeper aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, flinty smoky minerality and pepper, along with a whiff of gamey reduction. Bigger, broader and sweeter than the Clos Vougeot, and amazingly supple and plump for a grand cru from this vintage, without any loss of shape. The back end is like a booster rocket of fruits and flowers, which cover the wine's acidity and noble tannins today. I'd love to taste this next to the Clos Vougeot in ten years' time.

Good full red. At once primary and fully ripe on the nose, with sweet red raspberry and cherry aromas lifted by spices and an ineffable rose petal perfume. More densely packed than the Clos Vougeot, and holding more in reserve today. But this also boasts excellent energy and lift in the mouth. Finishes elegant and very long, with wonderfully silky tannins. These wines are now around 13.5% alcohol, following a half-degree to a full degree of chaptalization.

Like a mingling of roasted lamb and beef marrow with lightly-cooked black raspberry, decadent flowers, brown spices, and caramel, Anne Gros’s 2008 Richebourg represents a meaty meal all its own. The suffusion of tannin here is as refined though more intense than in the corresponding Clos Vougeot, and this finishes with the vibratory energy displayed by so many of the best 2008s, here taking the form of a spice and fruit colloquy. What I miss here is quite the mouthwatering combination of mineral elements with carnal savor captured in the corresponding Clos Vougeot, but the meatiness certainly runs long and deep in this Richebourg. Here is one Gros 2008 that will deserve a few years of rest in the cellar and ought to perform well for at least 10-12 years. Jun 2010, www.robertparker.com