Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Richebourg 2006

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  Vintage 2006
  95 points www.burghound.com

An extremely pure and equally restrained nose of red berry fruit and a range of spices that include hoisin, soy, clove and a perfumed incense character plus intense floral notes, including rose petal and violets of which glimpses can also be found on the vibrant and very firmly structured full-bodied flavors that culminate in a long, powerful and understated finish of immense length. The character here is completely different than that of the RSV because while the muscle of the RSV is more like that of a world class gymnast, here it is body builder-like without being coarse or inelegant. Most impressive and this is a bit like the GE in that the natural elegance of the '06 vintage has tamed somewhat the inherent tendency for there to be a certain robustness in Richebourg to create a harmonious whole. Now that the wine is in bottle, it struck me as a block of stone from which only the vaguest outlines of the final form of the statue have yet to emerge. Superb potential.