1999 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg

Mongeard-Mugneret is a 75-acre estate in Vosne-Romanee, in Burgundy’s Cote de Nuits. There were Mongeards making wine in the region in the 19th century and in 1945 Jean Mongeard, whose mother was a Mugneret, began working the family domaine though he was still a teenager. Today the estate is mostly run by Jean’s son Vincent. The domain has Grand Cru parcels in Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux, Echezeaux “Vieilles Vignes,” Clos de Vougeot and Richebourg. There are also numerous Premier Crus and villages wines. Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret has parcels in 22 appellations. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that the domain’s “style of winemaking seems to extract rich, supple, concentrated fruit from the grapes.”

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.