Reviews & Scores
A strikingly spicy and sexy nose of ripe black cherry and raspberry liqueur aromas leads to silky-textured, pure and beautifully delineated mineral-inflected flavors that culminate in a driving, tension-filled and gorgeously harmonious finish. While aromatically showy and impressively complex, the overall feel of this wine is quite understated with an equanimity that is quite Zen-like. Fantastic...Frédéric Mugnier described the 2009 as having a "relatively straightforward growing season save for some early hail in Bonnes Mares and Fuées. It cost me some quantity but otherwise, there wasn't much if any of qualitative impact. I started the harvest on the 10th of September and brought in extremely clean fruit so there really wasn't much sorting required. The fruit was extremely ripe with potential alcohols ranging from 13.5 to 14.5%. I did my usual vinification with 100% destemming. In terms of the wines, they strike me as a mix of 2003 and 1990, which is to say the ripeness of the former with the balance of the latter." Mugnier departed substantially from the large majority of his colleagues when the subject of longevity arose, quipping that "2009 will be a great vintage when it's old as it will easily be capable of lasting 50 years. The only problem is that when it's old, I will be dead." I further asked about how he viewed 2009 versus 2005 and I was surprised to hear that Mugnier believes that his '09s are more concentrated than his '05s. *Outstanding*
BH95
Bright cherry red. Again very light nose. But explosive on the palate - very rich and round and sweet. One can really see the quality. Nicely crystalline. Sweet richness and finish. Quite gassy but very very well done as though he was worried by the richness of the vintage and deliberately held back. Clean and cut.
JR18/20
Bright, deep red. Refined aromas of raspberry, crushed stone and white pepper, plus a whiff of white fruits. A step up in cut and tangy intensity from the foregoing samples, offering much more inner-mouth tension and energy. At once creamy and taut; here the vineyard stands up to the vintage character. Less thick and more juicy than the Fuees and village wine. Finishes firmly tannic, with a lingering aftertaste of crushed stone. This will need substantial bottle aging.
ST94