2013 Richebourg Grand Cru

From what I tasted here in November, the 2013s have turned out splendidly. Although grape sugars were mostly between 11.5% and 12%, phenolic maturity was good and winemaker Charles van Canneyt vinified with roughly the same 25% of the stems as he had in 2012.

It should come as no surprise that Charles van Canneyt prefers 2013 to 2012, as the cooler '13 harvest played to the strength of this estate, which has long been known for its vibrant, pure, perfumed wines. Van Canneyt, the grandson of Alain Hudelot, told me that the grapes were very healthy in 2013 when he started picking on October 5 and that there was little to eliminate on the sorting table. As the phenolic maturity was good, he was not afraid of vinifying with a portion of the stems (about 25%, as in 2012). Potential alcohol levels were in the 11.5% to 12% range and he chaptalized by about one degree. The wines could take the extra sugar owing to the ripeness of the skins, he told me. Van Canneyt has actually been doing more pigeages since taking over responsibility for vinifying the family's wines, including three times daily, by hand, during the first week of the fermentation. But then some vintages here in the '90s and early '00s were almost too delicate. None of the wines had been racked at the time of my visit, as the malos did not finish until September.