88-91 pts; Burghound
Producer note: Jean-Marc Roulot cheerfully noted that 2009 is "one of the five best vintages that I have made. We had an excellent growing season with sufficient rain that was spaced such that there was very little disease pressure and allowed the grapes to arrive at optimum maturity. I started picking quite early relative to most of my neighbors, which is to say on the 1st of September. The fruit was exceptionally clean and the harvest weather was just about perfect, which allowed us to take our time and pick each parcel exactly at the optimum moment. We picked over a two week period and brought in fruit of homogeneous ripeness levels that ranged between 12.8 and 13.5% in potential alcohols. I'm extremely happy with the quality and stylistically, the wines remind me quite a bit of the 2002s."
Tasting note: A subtle touch of reduction reduces only slightly the expressiveness of the hazelnut and orchard fruit suffused nose that precedes the rich and relatively full-bodied flavors that possess good detail and enough minerality such that the delicious and lengthy finish is palpably stony. A lovely and understated effort.