Healthy bright red. Explosive aromas of raspberry, blackberry, smoked plum, mocha, coffee, spices and truffley underbrush; this one hits most of the major red Burgundy food groups. At once tight-grained and wonderfully sweet and generous; the most vibrant of these 2013s to this point, with highly concentrated red fruit and spice flavors staining the palate and building on the aftertaste. Wonderfully sexy wine, but it's hard to imagine that this won't shut down in the bottle.

The 2013 Richebourg Grand Cru, whose malolactics finished two months earlier than other crus, is nurturing a very complex bouquet: a mixture of red and black fruit but here with touches of black truffle in the background. Of course, it has wonderful definition. It already boasts a cashmere texture on the palate, extraordinarily smooth with outstanding weight on the finish. Gentle and self-effacing, this should be compelling once in bottle.

The 2013 Richebourg is full of surprises, starting with a much more refined expression of Pinot than is typically the case. Lifted and decidedly medium in body, today the Richebourg is all about detail, while the firm spine of tannin that is such a signature is much less in evidence. This is one of the most finessed and approachable Richebourgs I can remember tasting from barrel at DRC, which leads me to think I caught the wine at a very early and embryonic stage in its life.

Broad spicy nose – very different shape from the Romanée St-Vivant. Light hint of black pepper but mainly rather fleshy and even a bit easy. Spot the tannin! Round and lovely already. Allspice and possible slightly lighter than RSV. Racy and sweet. Slightly less precise than the RSV. Dense and leathery... (JR)