2006 Richebourg Grand Cru

"Two thousand six was a year to pick late, even in the Cote de Beaune, in order to capture the beautiful side of a cool summer," said Mounir Saouma, who added that his wines are made from vines picked "earlier than the others in eight out of ten years." He went on: "There was a lot of variation even within the clusters. If you harvested too early, the wines are underripe, with too much acidity. The early pickers have made teeny wines with limited aging potential." Saouma did some lees stirring in 2006, which he feels gave the wines a better balance. "Two thousand five is a vintage to age. The wines have a lot of everything," he added. "But the 2006s may be more enjoyable to drink for many years." He noted that a few of his wines, such as the Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, are "bigger" in 2006 than in the previous vintages, even if potential alcohol levels were generally about a half-degree lower in '06. Incidentally, for the first time production here reached 100 barrels, with 60 of them red (of which 52 are premier and grand cru).