2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Perrieres

Frédéric Magnien makes two ranges of wines; the Domaine Michel Magnien range is made predominantly from estate-owned grapes, although a few bottlings include purchased fruit as well. Magnien also produces a négociant label, Maison Frédéric Magnien, exclusively from purchased grapes. If that sounds confusing, welcome to Burgundy. In layman's terms the Domaine bottlings have a black label, the Maison wines have a white label. Both ranges are vinified at Magnien's new facility in Morey St. Denis. Actually, each range has its own winery within the same building, which leads to some fascinating differences in the wines, which I explain below. The Frédéric Magnien wines are made in a large, more spacious cellar in the same facility as the Michel Magnien wines also reviewed in this issue. Cuvaison lasted 14-15 days, including a 3-4 days cold soak. The malos were later and slower here than at the Domaine, so the Maison wines received an additional racking prior to being bottled. In general the Maison wines tend to emphasize a more red expression of fruit, while the Domaine wines are more towards the blue/black end of the spectrum. All of the 2009s were bottled in February 2011.