Thierry Richoux

Thierry Richoux
Thierry Richoux
Richoux

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

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Once in a great while you stumble on a hidden gem, even one that has been in plain sight for decades. The first time I tasted a wine made by Thierry Richoux was out of a small, thick-rimmed glass that could only hold about five ounces of wine, if it were completely full. It was a bottle that was brought to dinner by our Chablis producer, Gilles Collet. I can still smell, taste and feel that first moment with Thierry’s 2008 Irancy. To my surprise, he didn’t have an importer in the States yet.

My first meeting with Thierry was one of my most eye-opening experiences. He is a gentle, thin and soft-spoken man with amazingly powerful hands that look like they could crush you with very little effort. Like Thierry, his wines are full of surprises and achieve a level of purity and authenticity that is rare to find, even in Burgundy. I have tasted nearly every red wine he has made going back to the late 80s, and with each wine, a new world opens up. He is without a doubt one of the greatest achievers in our collection and one that I cherish as much as any producer I work with.

This gorgeous village of Irancy is tucked in at the bottom of a very small amphitheater about 20 minutes from the center of Chablis. It shares the same basic geology as Chablis: Portlandian limestone on the upper sections and Kimmerigean limestone inside of the sloped areas. However, this is not a place that makes Chardonnay, it is home to one of the furthest north places in France that makes still wine from Pinot Noir. Irancy has found its special climate for Pinot Noir because of its horseshoe shape that faces south, west and north. The Pinot Noir from the north face is often used for cremant or rosé because it has a more difficult time ripening. The wines from this place can be extremely rustic impressions of Burgundy, something you could imagine something from the Côte d’Or during the 12th century. There is also another red grape here, César, which accentuates the rusticity. However, you will find none of that grape variety in the cellar of Thierry Richoux. -TV

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Thierry Richoux Irancy, Veaupessiot

Thierry Richoux - 2021 Irancy, Rouge, ‘Veaupessiot’

Price: $50.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

Out of stock

Type of Wine: Red
Grape(s): 100% Pinot Noir
Style: Mineral, Rustic
SKU: TRIVR21 Category: Tags: , , , Click to see what states we ship to
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GROWER OVERVIEW

Thierry Richoux and his sons, Gavin and Félix, craft impressive age-worthy wines southwest of Chablis, in Irancy, an appellation specializing in Pinot Noir. Sharing the same basic geology as Chablis, Irancy’s small amphitheater faces all directions but east, and includes a slope on the outside of the U, on the south hill that faces south and west—home to the lieux-dits, Veaupessiot and Palotte. Their organic and biodynamically farmed vineyards on a variety of aspects on mostly steep slopes are composed of limestone marl and clay. All grapes for red wines are hand-harvested, vinified with native yeasts, (sometimes with stems) and aged in a mix of 500l barrels, 40hl-55hl foudres and steel vats. In addition to their range of Irancy reds, they also produce a méthode Champenoise sparkling and a Rosé from Pinot Noir.

VINEYARD DETAILS

Richoux’s Irancy “Veaupessiot” is 100% Pinot Noir from 2.34ha with an average age of 35 years (2023) on a steep slope with a west exposure at 195-240m on limestone marl bedrock and brown clay topsoil.

CELLAR NOTES

The 2021 Veaupessiot was destemmed and naturally fermented in steel vats with one pumpover per day for 15-18 days. After pressing, it was settled for one month, then racked into 500-liter demi-muids (10% new) where it aged unmoved for 21 months followed by 6 months in steel. It is without added sulfites until bottling.

About The Wine

Thierry embraces each vintage for its uniqueness, which makes for a lot of diversity between years. Veaupessiot, like the other Irancy wines in the range, when first opened can hold its cards close to the chest—2010, 2013 and 2015 vintages are exceptions. Like a great Nebbiolo wine, the initial resistance begins to soften with time open and all its noble qualities begin to unfold from the glass. They are a rustic, clean style of wine that with patience shows an array of specific noble complexities unique to this place. Veaupessiot is the most elegant and brightly aromatic than the other lieux-dits bottlings, Les Cailles and La Palotte. Les Cailles is the more stern and stony with equal polish and La Palotte the more rustic and earthy ode to the past glories of Irancy.

Richoux’s favors taking extra time before the release of his wines, sometimes more than two years after the producers in the Côte d’Or. His wines wines are moved only a couple of times and spend their time in concrete and large foudre (55hl) for two years before bottling, preserving the delicate aromas that need some extra time to come back to form after the bottling. It can take some years for the full recovery; Thierry is in no rush to push them out the door.

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