2009 Chambertin

Or ‘Monsieur Le Chambertin’, as Lalou calls this wine. Very majestic. Rich and savoury and yet not sweet. Wait and it will surely reward. (JR)

The 2009 Chambertin is one of the wines of the vintage. It is also the least obvious of the 2009 grand crus. This isn’t an immediate wine, rather it is a Burgundy that challenges all of the senses with sublime understated personality. Time spent with the wine is immensely rewarding, as the Chambertin is constantly changing in the glass, challenging the taster to keep up with its sheer pedigree. This is all nuance and class. I also tasted the 2010 from barrel, and it was beyond profound. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. This was my first opportunity to taste the 2009s from Domaine Leroy in bottle. Lalou Bize-Leroy was among the first, if not the first, to bottle her 2009s, so she naturally wanted to give the wines some time to recover before showing them. The wines are stunning. Readers who have an opportunity to taste them should not hesitate. As always, the style is one of textural richness and depth, but the2009s appear to have excellent underlying material as well. The attention to every detail at the Domaine is quite evident in these thrilling wines. My visit ended with a sample of the 2010 Chambertin from barrel. Why not go straight to the top? If that wine is representative of the year, Leroy fans will have another superb vintage to look forward to, although yields will be lower than the already minuscule production. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040

The 2009 Chambertin is one of the wines of the vintage. It is also the least obvious of the 2009 grand crus. This isn’t an immediate wine, rather it is a Burgundy that challenges all of the senses with sublime understated personality. Time spent with the wine is immensely rewarding, as the Chambertin is constantly changing in the glass, challenging the taster to keep up with its sheer pedigree. This is all nuance and class. I also tasted the 2010 from barrel, and it was beyond profound. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Sep 2011, www.robertparker.com