2009 Domaine de Montille Beaune Perrières 1er Cru

The 2009 Beaune Les Perrieres caresses the palate with layers of dark, sensual fruit, showing excellent length. A clean, vibrant finish rounds things out nicely. This is on the delicate side for Beaune, but quite pretty. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. Etienne de Montille began harvesting on September 5 in 2009 in order to maintain as much freshness as possible. Natural alcohols came in between 12.7% and 13.2% slightly higher than the range de Montille prefers. My sense is that some of the entry-level 2009s could have used a touch more density, but the higher end wines are quite successful across the board. The 2009s were aged on their lees and were not racked until they were prepared for bottling, which began in September 2010, the first time de Montille had bottled 1er Crus before the following harvest. I tasted most of the 2009s from tank, where they were settling before bottling. De Montille did not plan to fine or filter any of the wines in tank. Readers will find additional notes on the estate’s 2008s on www.erobertparker.com. Various American Importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808