Burgundy 2009 Vintage Review
The 2009 vintage will perhaps be remembered as perhaps a terrific one for the Rhône, an exceptional one for Bordeaux …and for Burgundy…maybe one that will challenge the 2005 that some people call the ‘vintage of the century’ a term rarely used by Burgundians. Our visit in early November proved that the 09 vintage will be one talked about for years to come.
The Season
Following a cold winter which gave way to an orderly spring, flowering was not hindered by any inclement weather. Early summer was warm but not scorching, which as a result, gave the vines a chance to establish a healthy canopy. In May and June some hail ripped through the Côtes de Nuits causing real losses in Morey and Gevrey Combottes. July was interspersed with rain and hot days and growers started to became a little uneasy (ideal conditions for oidium, powdery and downy mildew to flourish). August and September brought bright sunny days and cool nights, ideal for developing phenolic ripeness and retaining fruit characters during fermentation. The growing season, thus far, had been quite good until, two weeks before harvest, there were huge downpours resulting in swollen grapes, any more and berry split could have been a problem. The weather then returned to normal and became quite hot, but not too hot - not like the baked 2003 vintage – and a northerly wind helped return the berries back to their optimum. Great weather gave producers lots of time to harvest, the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes were in beautiful condition and in many cases there was no need for sorting tables.
The Wines
Throughout the Côte d’Or, the Pinot Noirs are very pure and show minerality, the tannins may not be as powerful as the ‘05s but they are certainly there. The wines are rich in fruit, both on the nose and palate, this helps to soften the tannins and round them off, “it is a bit like the 2005 vintage but better. Many people will be interested in ‘09 because they are a very fruit driven style, with the body and depth of 2005 but without the ‘in your face’ tannins.” says Frédéric Magnien. The alcohol levels may be slighter higher, however, they are not as noticeable due to the wealth of ripeness. The ‘09 vintage is much softer and silkier than the ‘05s, which makes for wines that are more approachable, especially in the early stages of aging. It looks like they have the depth and structure to be an excellent cellaring vintage.
In terms of villages we felt Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits Saint Georges did very well. Sylvie Esmonin’s wines really stood out, intensely perfumed with huge flavour profiles. Wines from Nuits Saint Georges had lots of charm in what is often a slightly foursquare commune. Here the Chevillon brothers never cease to impress, consistent quality right across their range. Gregory Gouges from Domaine Henri Gouges, was in full motion too with his outstanding range of 1er Cru Nuits. In Vosne Romanée, the wines from Yves Confuron from Confuron-Cotetidote were well extracted and powerful with loads of depth - no wonder his wines age so well. Other highlights included our visit to Frédéric Mugnier from Chambolle Musigny: he believes that the ‘09 vintage will take longer to evolve than the 2005, and quotes “At the moment the wines are very rich but require much aging to become more complex, I am delighted with this vintage.” Our last visit to rising Volnay superstar, Nicolas Rossignol, was an experience, he is producing wines that are perfect expressions of his various terroir; he said, “I am not making Pinot Noir, I am using Pinot Noir to express the unique landscapes and earth that I work with.” And we could really taste what he was taking about.
Further South in the Côtes de Beaune the words that kept coming through in our tasting notes for the whites were, ‘citrus’, ‘vanilla’ and ‘minerality’. This is a vintage for those who love rich and fresh wines for the long term. In simple terms the Meursaults have ultra fresh profiles with some peachy overtones. They are fatter wines than the ‘07s and more elegant than the ‘05s. A perfect example of this comes from Jean Philippe Fichet, with 50% less oak in the cellar - than in previous vintages - his wines express more mineral tones with loads of fruit. In Saint Aubin, the minerality of Hurbert Lamy’s wines exceed most. In Chassagne Montrachet, brothers Thomas and Vincent Morey, now, each with their own domaine, have two very distinctive styles; Thomas with richer, nuttier wines that have verve and drive, and Vincent with a more round and mineral style: both top producers and thankfully very different. In Puligny the wines had a certain ‘nervosité’ but with layers of fruit and natural finesse. A perfect example comes from Francois Carillon, his wines are fruit bound, approachable with good use of oak and are simply delicious.
New Producers to the Genesis portfolio include Albert Bichot and Pierre André. These are two of the new breed of dynamic Negociants and are worthy of more than just a glance in passing. With a stable of Grand Crus and Premier Crus, Bichot has a long history of winemaking in the Côte d’Or. In Corton, Pierre André wines, both white and red exuded, class and character that we can only highly recommend.
Conclusion
The 2009 vintage has produced wines that are full of richness and weight. What is very apparent is the theme of consistency, a kind of homogeneous nature in the wines, whilst this may have the odd traditionalists thinking, ‘this is a little un-burgundian’, most will love the overall quality of the wines. One final thing that we did notice was there seemed to be nice definition between the village wines, Premier Crus and Grand Crus in 2009. In some recent vintages the distinctions have been blurred or at least less in evidence, 2009 certainly seems to have restored the classic notion of the Burgundy pyramid to the firmament. There is no question that the 2009 vintage is definitely a good one, will it be superior to the 2005, we will have to wait and see. While both vintages are good they are very different, they will need time to develop and show their beauty and only then will we be able to judge. With slightly higher alcohol levels, excellent depth and structure the 09s will age gracefully and can also be enjoyed early when they are released - while you wait for the ‘05s to mature
