1999 Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg Grand Cru 12-Pack

Here is another great wine from Anne Gros, which will reward those with the patience and nouse to cellar for an extended period. The 1999 Richebourg Grand Cru is backward and reticent on the nose, but it only takes a few swirls of the glass and it reveals gorgeous black cherry and raspberry fruit mixed with a hint of dark chocolate from some residual new oak that will be subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied with fine acidity. There is a smorgasbord of lush raspberry and wild strawberry fruit cloaked in new oak, but the wood does not obscure the grape variety or vineyard, allowing the character of the wine to be expressed with hints of white pepper sprinkled over the finish. What a great Richebourg, but one that I would actually afford another five years in the cellar. This is long-term. (NM)