2009 Grands-Echezeaux

"There are two indicators of a great year," Dominique Laurent told me before we began tasting his 2009s. "First, the wines are very precise to their terroir. Second, they mount in power during their elevage. The 2009s are doing that despite the high yields of the vintage. They began less precise than the 2006s but are showing increasing site specificity with elevage, and they're more profound than the 2006s. It's a classic vintage, but classic doesn't necessarily mean austere; there can be joy in it." Laurent pointed out that 2009 is one of those rare years (like 1999, 1990 and 1985) in which the crus of the Cote de Beaune can be at the level of their counterparts from the Cote de Nuits in texture and energy. "This year it's worth buying the best Cote de Beaune bottlings; they will eventually be mistaken for great Cote de Nuits wines." Laurent is convinced that 2009 is for long aging; he compared the vintage to 1964 and 1962. He told me he cut back on his use of new oak for the 2009s and that he planned to bottle the wines on the early side, in February and March of 2011.