09 Wine

[William_Kelley]

The whites are certainly ripe, a little tropical and low in acidity. There is some pleasure to be derived but I’d much rather be drinking the '11’s.

I didn’t buy a huge amount of '09 reds on release but quite like where they are now. They have calmed down and there is good perfume.

Doug, The Egly certainly held its own. It was browning a little and was more advanced than the other wines but it was certainly spicy and overt and a real crowd pleaser.

I will have to try to persuade Francis to do a vertical of it some time. Drop me a note when you’ll next be in Champagne, Jeremy!

[Jay_Miller]

I’m also in the camp of people who thought the 09s overripe on release but thought they firmed up nicely after some time in the bottle.

[DougS]

Jeremy, how do you think the Egly-Ouriet compared to some of the Burgundies in terms of quality?

Not Jeremy, and I haven’t had the 2009 recently, but it can be right up there. It has its own style, but if you had to place it in Burgundy you might think of higher-altitude Chambolle I guess. The 2015 and 2012 that I drank a couple of months ago were brilliant.

The plot is right in the heart of Ambonnay, in a gentle depression where the soil is a bit deeper and the mesclimate a bit warmer. The vines are very old but Francis still does a green harvest to keep the yields down. He has tried making still wines elsewhere in his holdings and says it just doesn’t work.

Thanks, William. I have tasted the wine before, although I forget which vintage. I thought it was very impressive and that it would be interested to try the wine alongside some nice Burgundies for context. Of course, you have that context in your head, so I appreciate your comments.

[Keith_Levenberg]

I agree the issue with 2009 is far more often a certain listlessness than overripeness - the EEG remark is funny. But if the 1959s came out fine, hard to imagine the 2009s won’t.

[alan_weinberg]

funny to realize that 09 is already 10 years on. Clive Coates annually did a 10 year retrospective in The Vine that I enjoyed; this thread was helpful. I think I’d have trouble with Tuesday if I ever did Monday table. It’d likely be Tuesday bed until Wednesday.

[Fred_C]

For those of you nervous about ‘09, you’d better back fill other vintages now. 2017 was hot, and I’m told 2018 was the hottest year in burgundy ever, dwarfing 2003. Happily the growers seem to have learned a great deal since that candied vintage.

I have only had 2017s from barrel (a year ago and that was from producers I like), but it did not tasted like a really hot vintage in that the wines seemed to have adequate acidity. That is not to say the acidity was as high as in 2008, 2010 or 2014, but, to me, it seemed like around the acidity in 2007s (I am talking reds). I guess I will know better and from a larger range of wines next March at the next Paulee Grand Tasting.

Analytically, 2017 is definitely below-average in acidity, especially the reds. For reds, I really think the best analogy would be a cleaner, purer version of 2000. For white, for a variety of reasons, 1992 might be the best comparison, though the wines are probably a bit lower in acidity than the 1992s.

Does that mean you’re noticing some botrytis in 2017 whites given the 1992 comparison?

[William_Kelley]

I agree the issue with 2009 is far more often a certain listlessness than overripeness - the EEG remark is funny. But if the 1959s came out fine, hard to imagine the 2009s won’t.

A lot changed, as I don’t need to remind you, between 1959 and 2009: fertilizers and other agrochemicals, clones, etc etc. As did the idea of what constituted a generous yield. 1959 was considered to be a big crop at the time but was nothing compared to 2009. So I think that 2009s with a flat EEG likely also signed a waiver saying “do not resuscitate”. FWIW, I think 1959 may find a better analogy with the 2015 vintage.

Of course, anyone wanting to dump their 2009 Coche-Dury wines at below-market prices should feel free to get in touch.

[William_Kelley]

I have only had 2017s from barrel (a year ago and that was from producers I like), but it did not tasted like a really hot vintage in that the wines seemed to have adequate acidity. That is not to say the acidity was as high as in 2008, 2010 or 2014, but, to me, it seemed like around the acidity in 2007s (I am talking reds). I guess I will know better and from a larger range of wines next March at the next Paulee Grand Tasting.

Analytically, 2017 is definitely below-average in acidity, especially the reds. For reds, I really think the best analogy would be a cleaner, purer version of 2000. For white, for a variety of reasons, 1992 might be the best comparison, though the wines are probably a bit lower in acidity than the 1992s.

Does that mean you’re noticing some botrytis in 2017 whites given the 1992 comparison?

Interesting question! I drank the 1992 Leflaive Chevalier with Michel Bettane recently, and I remarked on what—to me—were the clearly botryized aromas of the wine. He insisted he had seen the harvest chez Leflaive and that there was no botrytis: the grapes were clean and golden. This tallies with observations from a couple of winemakers I have discussed the 1992s with. Having spent the 2017 harvest in Burgundy, I can testify that there was very little botrytis. Yet many of the wines have quite exotic floral/fruit tones, redolent of citrus blossom, that I can certainly see developing into the kind of expression one finds in lots of 1992s. Perhaps it’s because I spend a lot of time in the Mâconnais, but I find myself increasingly open to appreciating more musky expressions of Chardonnay that I once rejected. But in any case, if one comes to think that terroir is expressed largely by a wine’s structure and balance and less by its aromas (as I do), one’s mind broadens.

[Brad_England]

As a side note, and slightly off topic. This thread has two of my favorite contributors - Jeremy and William. Really appreciate both of your posts and notes.

[William_Kelley]

As a side note, and slightly off topic. This thread has two of my favorite contributors - Jeremy and William. Really appreciate both of your posts and notes.

Very kind of you to say. Cheers!

[L_e_o_F_r_o_k_i_c]

I agree the issue with 2009 is far more often a certain listlessness than overripeness - the EEG remark is funny. But if the 1959s came out fine, hard to imagine the 2009s won’t.

This!!! 1959 is my favorite vintage of all time, Burgundy and Bordeaux. Lab numbers for 1959 were almost the same, patience will be required but patient ones will be rewarded!

[Jerry_Hey]

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres and 2009 Rousseau Clos St Jacques were both outstanding last year at Epicure in Paris.

[alan_weinberg]

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres and 2009 Rousseau Clos St Jacques were both outstanding last year at Epicure in Paris.

food wasn’t bad either, I bet.

[Jerry_Hey]

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres and 2009 Rousseau Clos St Jacques were both outstanding last year at Epicure in Paris.

food wasn’t bad either, I bet.

The food at Epicure is near classic perfection.

[Andrew_Hamilton]

2009 Roulot Meursault Perrieres and 2009 Rousseau Clos St Jacques were both outstanding last year at Epicure in Paris.

Thanks Jerry, I’ve got a single of the 09 Rousseau CSJ. Open sooner or later? I was expecting to give it at least another decade but I could be tempted to open earlier if warranted.

[John_Bashford]

Thanks Jeremy for the great notes that keep to your usual high standard ! Sounds a great evening.
Our Wednesday group here in Brisbane have 2 dinners this year looking at 09 Grand Crus from Gevrey and Vosne. The Gevrey dinner was held 2 weeks ago and certainly we had no real sense of over-ripeness or lack of structure. Indeed the overall impact was of purity, classical if open fruit characters and underlying structure. In short they were delicious !
I include the Cellartracker link : Wine Group Dinner #169 - 2009 Gevrey Chambertin Grand Crus - CellarTracker for those interested.
We look forward to the next instalment !

[Kent_Comley]

Great notes John on a lovely dinner.

[Martin_Buchanan]

Interesting to hear the comments on 2009.

For the reds, I think it is a tough vintage to read right now. I loved them from barrel, finding them fresh and clean despite not having tons of acid. I also found them very complex with plenty of ripe tannin. There seemed to be a lot to resolve and I’m not surprised that they remain awkward. I hold out extremely high hopes for them. It’s worth noting that my tastings were focussed more on small domaines and that that there are no doubt soft, over-cropped wines across the region.

2009 whites remain a total mystery to me. They were difficult to taste young and have remained so. Wines that one would expect to be overblown are fresh and bright and bottlings from acid lovers are loose. With the terrors of ageing white burgundy it is not a vintage that I’m looking to collect. It may well offer some wonderful surprises down the line though.

Martin

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Thank you for the kind comments Brad.

Thank you for the excellent notes John.

[Jurgen_Steinke]

I like the 09 vintage in Burgundy and Bordeaux. The wines are indeed a bit lower in acid but the vintage provided a flood of delicious wines even at Bourgogne and Cru Bourgeoise level.IMHO. Wouldn’t it be boring if vintages are all the same? I drink my 09 with a lot of pleasure while waiting for the 2010. And I am happy that I have plenty of 09 in my cellar.