2009 Maison Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin is a big, full-bodied wine loaded with warm, radiant fruit. This is an engaging, immediate style best suited to near and mid-term drinking. Charmes is one of the more challenged sites in 2009. Drouhin’s Charmes is made from purchased fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Drouhin farms 75 hectares of vineyards according to biodynamic principles. Maceration and fermentation lasts about three weeks. The wines are then racked into oak in a cold part of the cellar to slow down the malos, although in 2009 they were entirely done by December. The estate leaves the wines on their lees for several months with one racking, or two if needed, prior to being assembled for bottling. New oak ranges from 25% for the entry-level wines to 50-65% for the grand crus. Veronique Drouhin thinks the 2009s will stay open throughout their lives, much as the 1985s have. All of these 2009s were bottled between early December, 2010 and January, 2011. Importer: Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770

(from purchased grapes; Drouhin is now working with a better plot owned by the same grower) Moderately saturated medium red. Raspberry, flowers and iron on the nose. Suave on entry, then charming, delineated and sweet, with harmonious acidity carrying the finish. Not technically high in acidity but boasts good energy. Finishes with very good but not outstanding length.

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin is a big, full-bodied wine loaded with warm, radiant fruit. This is an engaging, immediate style best suited to near and mid-term drinking. Charmes is one of the more challenged sites in 2009. Drouhin’s Charmes is made from purchased fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. May 2011, www.robertparker.com