2010 Cornas Chaillot

When I asked Franck Balthazar if he could compare 2010 to any other vintage he quickly answered "no, it's impossible.The wines have the minerality and texture of a light year but the weight and power of a ripe one.It's unique to have such deep flavor with so much feminine character at the same time."He added that 2010 was his "favorite type of vintage, because of the finesse."Balthazar sees 2011 as "a vintage to drink while you wait for the '10s and '09s" and said that he liked the fruit expression of the wines, which he sees as superior to 2008 and possibly 2007 as well.By the way, the Casimir Balthazar bottling, which is sourced from vines averaging around 50 years of age, is made with 60% stems, while the Chaillot, which comesfrom the estate's oldest vines, most of them over a century old, is made with 100% stems.

"The mark of 2010 is freshness plus finesse," according to Franck Balthazar."The fruit got just about as ripe as in 2009 but we were able to harvest later so it was possible to get more complexity as the sugars didn't reach their maturity levels until almost three weeks after they got there in 2009."Balthazar suggests that the 2010s will probably be approachable at almost every stage of what he speculates will be a long life, "while the 2009s are already beginning to show their structure and tannins.They're starting to shut down and will be difficult to understand for at least a few years after that so it will be a mistake to drink them young."