95
score
Burghound
January 01, 2011
Producer note: Eric Rousseau's take on the 2009 vintage was that "we had a normal winter that wasn't too cold followed by a humid but warm spring. The flowering was uniform and abundant and the summer was much better than average. In fact, I'd like to have a summer like this every year! We did have some early season hail in Clos de la Roche but the effect was on quantity and not quality. I began picking on the 7th of September and brought in generous yields that ranged from a low of 35 hl/ha to a high of 48 hl/ha. There was a normal incidence of shot berries though I heard some of my neighbors say that they had lots. Potential alcohols were solid but not really high at between 12.5 and 13.5% and the acidities were basically ideal. I did a classic vinification of 16 to 20 days with the only exception being that I used a higher proportion of whole clusters, which is to say 15 to 20% versus my usual 5 to 10%. [Rousseau noted that because of the hail, he used no whole clusters for the Clos de la Roche]. For me, 2009 is a genuinely great vintage as the wines have really elegant tannins that remind me of the 1985s or the 1990s. Because of their charm and velvety textures, the wines should drink well from the beginning." Rousseau noted that he used no new wood at all except for the Clos St. Jacques, Chambertin and Clos de Bèze. (Frederick Wildman, www.frederickwildman.com, NY, NY; Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, UK, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com, UK, Heyman, Barwell and Rudd, UK O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, UK and Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, UK).
Tasting note: This is every bit as elegant as the Clos St. Jacques but even deeper and broader with incredibly complex and refined red berry fruit, plum and violet aromas that are relatively cool and are in keeping with the balanced, refined and mouth coating flavors that possess superb depth and excellent finishing intensity on the explosive and gorgeously persistent finish. This is a really lovely '08 that should improve for out to two decades.
