A Fantastic, Terrific Value Red - Thierry Richoux Is Finally Getting the Recognition He Deserves The World is Waking up to Irancy

We have always loved Thierry Richoux here at Fass Selections and knew one day that he would be

discovered. Thierry was one of our first producers .Well, here we are again, where the WA catches up to Fass Selections. It has happened before in the recent past with Martin Muellen, Paul Weltner and Domaine Les Alexandrins and now it is Thierry Richoux's turn up to receive wafting praise and excellent scores from a Wine Advocate reviewer, this time it being the ebullient and very British Neal Martin.

"The 2012 Irancy has a touch more fruit intensity than the 2013, fragrant red cherries and wild strawberry mixed with subtle forest floor scents. The palate is fresh and clean with fine tannin, more backbone than the 2013 with cranberry and white pepper intermarried on the sustained finish. This is a joyful Irancy Pinot Noir that can be broached now and over the next five years. Superb!" - 91 pts

Thierry is very adamant about holding the wines back and releases them when he thinks they are ready. Right now he is selling the 2012 Thierry Richoux Irancy ($23.99 on a 4 pack) which I wanted to offer again as 91 points for this wine validates what I have been saying and it is the best "regular" Richoux Irancy that I have offered of the three vintages that I have offered.  This wine is priced like an every day gulper but it is not.  Yes, it has great fruit.  Yes, it is delicious.  But it also has the acidic balance, structure and secondary flavors that make great wine great.  And it is uniquely Irancy by a fantastic producer for the price of an everyday cru Bourgogne.

Neal makes a good point in his cogent analysis in that it is almost folly to compare this wine to its brethren in the Côte de d'Or as it is so different and unique. For this price you get a wonderful wine that should be taken on its own like a Savigny Les Beaune or a Hautes Cotes de Nuits. It can stand on its own as a spectacular Pinot Noir from Irancy. It has dynamic fruit, deep raspberry and cherry tiny berry fruit with a wonderful swath of sweet and ripe tannin. It is deeper than any regular Richoux Irancy I have tasted. I have tasted many at Thierry's cellar as he loves opening old bottles blind for me and this vintage is the most promising and shows the wonderful potential of Irancy in a ripe vintage. It's very northerly so sometimes, especially in the old days it did not get ripe and you has some bitter, green, charmless wines that did not help its reputation. But with 2012, you still get the nice acidity you get from Irancy (it is only 25 minutes from Chablis) and engaging strong minerality but with all that sweet layered complex and deep fruit.

I can without abandon say that the version of this wine in 2012 is extraordinary. It left me speechless which is hard to do. Such pure and vibrant fruit without sacrificing the tannic/herbaciousness of Irancy. Amazing depth here and the fruit runs a bit dark for Irancy which only adds to the intrigue of this wine. It has the 2012 sweet fruit and volume on the palate as well as stunning freshness and purity. It has length for days. Really leaves a long impression. A great wine and will age for 15+ years. As many of you are unabashed fans of Thierry's wines grab as much as you can as this will be something to track for many years. At $23.99 this represents some of the best value for 2012 Burgundy.

Neal did not even scratch the surface as there are no notes on the brilliant Vaupessiot Cuvee or a special 2012 Cuvee for his grandmother which will be released in 2017. Or his new single vineyard wine from 2014 which will be released in 2018 or 2019.

These are subject to confirmation.

2012 Thierry Richoux Irancy - $25.99 ($95.96 4-pack) (VERY LIMITED)