2009 Maison Joseph Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru

The 2009 Griotte-Chambertin is beautiful, elegant and totally weightless. This shows gorgeous subtlety and inner juiciness through to the nuanced finish. Griottes, spices and flowers linger on the close. My sense is this is holding a lot back in reserve at the moment. The Griotte-Chambertin is made from estate 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

(tasted from tank); Good deep red. Reticent, rather reduced nose shows licorice and oak today. More sweet oak (actually, only two-thirds) on the palate, which is dominated by a rather polite floral character. Fairly lush in texture yet slow to reveal itself. Best today on the back end, which is longer and deeper than the Charmes. Am I overrating this, or is this just in an awkward phase today?

The 2009 Griotte-Chambertin is beautiful, elegant and totally weightless. This shows gorgeous subtlety and inner juiciness through to the nuanced finish. Griottes, spices and flowers linger on the close. My sense is this is holding a lot back in reserve at the moment. The Griotte-Chambertin is made from estate fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. May 2011, www.robertparker.com