The 2009 White Burgundies

by Antonio Galloni

The 2009 harvest yielded a large number of delicious white Burgundies, many of which will drink beautifully with virtually no cellaring. As with the reds, the sweet spot is in the less prestigious appellations, where the sun and warmth of the year helped flesh out the wines to a greater degree than is often the case. In particular, I was struck by the large number of terrific wines I tasted from St. Aubin. On a slightly more cautious note, though, the 2009s will require a selective hand. There is quite a bit more variability in the whites than the reds in 2009. I suspect much of that is because in a warm vintage the choice of harvest date is especially critical, and has the potential to mark Chardonnay to a far greater extent than Pinot Noir.