2002 Richebourg Grand Cru

Aubert de Villaine was one of a few chateau proprietors who wondered aloud what all the fuss was regarding the 2002 vintage. Yes, there was more sugar in 2002 than in 2001, as well as more acidity," he told me, "but the maturity came quickly after the early September rains, thanks to the sun and water available to the vines.It's a very good vintage that produced extremely nice wines, but it's not 1999. And it's not a particularly powerful vintage."De Villaine is high on his 2001s, however. It's a great, dense vintage, classic and seductive.The 2001s have been an extraordinary surprise."In my November tasting, they were even more impressive than the 2002s, even if the top two wines were a bit inscrutable at this early stage. DRC is experimenting with using microbullage(introducing small amounts of air in this case, not oxygen) to avoid one racking, and is also leaving some of the 2002 barrels on their original lees clear up to the assemblage (Wilson-Daniels, Ltd., St. Helena CA