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.

Burgundy En Primeur 2009

Burgundy 2009

The Burgundy 2009 En Primeur campaign is warming up to be as popular as the Bordeaux 2009. We will be releasing our report and offer late Novemeber. The offer will go live on the 11th of January.To ensure your eligibility for these wines and to receive a copy of the offer in advance please register by contacting Genesis Wines directly.

We will be hosting the Burgundy En Primeur tasting on the 10th of January at Chandos House in London. An attendance to this tasting is by invitation only. Places are limited so only registered customers will be given the opportunity to attend. Register now.

Tasting Rhônes 2009 Vintage

Despite the French strikes we managed to make it back from our 4 day visit to the Rhône Valley. Blessed with fantastic weather we were warmly welcomed by our growers both current and new. Harvest for many growers finished only a week ago, this is always a great time of the year to visit, the vines are showing there autumn colours, the madness of harvesting is over with few loading the press for the last time, and there is more time to spend with growers, taste their wines and talk about the vintage. Making our way through the various appellations of Rhône we visited growers in the North from Tain l’Hermitage, Côte Rotie, Malleval and Ampuis and in the South, Châteauneauf-du-Pape, Vinsobres, Cairanne, Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Tavel.

While this trip was all about the 09 vintage it was also the perfect opportunity to re-taste the 08s and even sample some of the freshly pressed 2010 vintage.

Across both the North and South a common theme became apparent, when compared, the 2009 vintage is a blend between the 05 and 07 vintages. The lush fruit and sweetness is reminiscent of the 07 and the structure and depth to the wines is more like that of the 05, only without the rigid and stern notes. Growers are very impressed with the 2009 vintage and were very fascinated by the style and characters it produced, qualities that some winemakers said they had never come across.

The 2009 red wines have wonderful freshness on the nose, some wines showed a little reduction too, but across the board were generally fruit driven. The grapes of 2009 reached an optimal Phenolyic ripeness producing tannins that are structured and round. Their is definitely some tannic power in the wines but this is complemented by the lush sweet black fruits, something that is so prevalent in the 07 vintage. Once again, the alcohol levels of the wines are in check, although in some instances, especially in the South, the heat started to show – one can expect from Southern Rhône. The wines have a wonderful acidity to them helping to create this freshness they possess and carrying the length on the finish. This is clearly a good vintage. What stood out amongst the wines that were tasted was the ability to enjoy them straight away, it was surprising to experience wines straight from the barrel that could be enjoyed quite easily at the dinner table. This is a vintage that will both age well or can be enjoyed in the first 1-4 years.

From the slopes of Côte Rotie, through Hermitage and down to Vacqueyras and Tavel the wines express wonderful minerality, not overwhelming but well infused helping to create this freshness and lush character. This minerality is especially noticeable in the whites. The Marsannes, Rousannes, and Viognier of Rhône showed very well for the 09 vintage. Packed with blossom and tropical fruit aromas they are simply delicious. However, they did not express as much fruit on the palate as on the nose, but rather, a minerality aspect that coated the mouth and was indeed very pleasing. They showed good length and will be superb whites to enjoy over the next few years.

We are also excited to be showing wines from new growers including Domaine Tour Saint Michel from Châteauneauf-du-Pape, with a more feminine style of wines that are stunningly good. Also joining our portfolio is La Fume Du Mont, also from Châteauneauf-du-Pape, with vineyards sites through out the Rhône this exciting and passionate producer is one to look out for.

Bordeaux 2009 review

Recession, what recession? The 2009 Bordeaux campaign was truly one of the more remarkable 3 months that we can remember in the wine trade. It all started quite sensibly with wines being released at prices that, given the quality of the vintage, seemed reasonable. Then Robert Parker dolled out his scores and suddenly wines were being released at double the price of their 2005 counterparts. Oh how we all chuckled when Sauternes that would normally sell at £300 a case were being offered at £600+. Many such releases got their just desserts and failed to sell (so perhaps the desserts will have to be enjoyed with another vintage at a later date?). In amongst the barkingly mad releases lots of wines came out at prices that given some consideration were worth the money, after all wasn’t this the greatest vintage ever? Lets see in a few years, shall we? So momentum started to build and yes the Chinese really were buying as well and not just waiting for the First Growths. Before we knew it pandemonium was in full swing, wine merchants all around the world were looking like 1980s city traders with phones pinned to their ears screaming (and often begging) for more wine whilst the increasingly satisfied Bordelaise watched their still in barrel wine disappear from their inventories. Clients in turn were asking us for increasingly large quantities of rarer wines and the last week of June was as hectic a time as we can recall.

Then suddenly July arrived and the last wines were released and it all stopped and calm was restored, well the Bordelaise had to plan their holidays didn’t they? And there was real concern that August might get interrupted!

Sanity has restored and now we await the releases of 2009 Rhones in November and 2009 Burgundies in January 2011, one imagines these will be every bit as in demand but the prices are likely to be a little less eye watering.

James Price
August 2010