Dark cherry and black raspberry jam; dark chocolate; and burley tobacco fill the nose from Meo-Camuzet's 2006 Richebourg, which then coats the palate with jam- and liqueur-like sweetness and viscosity of fruit, along with practically ineradicable chocolate, spice, tobacco, and toasted pecan. But for all of the sweet richness on display here, in contrast with most of the other wines in its collection, this displays hints of chocolate and fruit pit bitterness; crushed stone; roasted meat flavors; and primary, sappy fruit juiciness all of which not only add interest but offset the sweetness and keep the wine from becoming fatiguing or monolithic. There seems to be even more tannin here than in the corresponding Cros Parantoux, but it is well-integrated and fine-grained. I imagine myself directly tasting this wine's high skin-to-juice ratio here. Meo thought that vis-a-vis the Cros Parantoux, his 2006 Richebourg was relatively inexpressive on the day I tasted it. If so, then obviously my score will have proven depressed.
Jean-Nicolas Meo harvested 2006 fruit between 13.25-14.25% potential alcohol, slightly higher than in 2005. Except for a few instances of vineyards touched by hail, he said, he vinified in essentially the same way (including the same percentages of new barrels) as he had in 2005. Meo notes that the pHs of his 2006s ended up quite high after their malos, and while this contributes to their sense of softness and generosity, I sometimes find these wines wanting for some vivacity or primary juiciness. (I have appended to the description of Meo's negociant bottlings the words "Frere et Soeur" that appear underneath "Meo-Camuzet" on their labels.)
Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524. Also a Jean-Marie de Champs Selection (various importers), French fax 011 33 3 80 22 58 25
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