1999 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Richebourg

Domaine Meo-Camuzet owns or controls 38 acres in Vosne-Romanee, in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or. The estate was founded in the early 20th century when Etienne Camuzet, a politician from the Cote d’Or, started acquiring vineyards. His daughter passed them on to Jean Meo, a relative who worked for Charles de Gaulle. Until the 1980s much of the domaine was farmed by metayers, or sharecroppers, who gave part of what they produced to the domaine and kept the rest. In 1945 the young Henri Jayer began working Meo-Camuzet parcels in Richebourg, Vosne-Romanee, Les Brulees and Nuits-Meurgers. When Meo’s son Jean-Nicolas took over the estate’s operations in 1985, he worked closely with the legendary Jayer for three years, until Jayer retired in 1988. Jayer died in 2006, but his winemaking legacy is evident in Meo-Camuzet’s modern vintages. Today the estate produces Grands Crus, Premiers Crus and village wines.

Richebourg is an 18.3-acre Grand Cru pinot noir vineyard in the Cote de Nuits, within the commune of Vosne-Romanee. The vineyard lies just to the north of La Romanee and Romanee-Conti and is situated at elevations from 260 to 280 meters. The soil is a clay, pebble, limestone and sand mixture. Richebourg includes the subsection of Les Veroilles-sous-Richebourg. Principal landholders of Richebourg are Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, with 8.78 acres; Leroy, with 1.95 acres; and Gros Frere et Soeur, with 1.73 acres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.