2009 Pommard Les Rugiens

The 2009 Pommard Rugiens is a supple, beautifully balanced wine. It reveals lovely polish as the intensity of the fruit builds towards the textured, generous finish. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. I tasted an impressive range of wines with Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier, who is slated to take over when Lardiere retires at the end of 2012. Jadot makes a mind-bending number of wines, but I limited myself to the best 35 or so examples. In 2009 Jadot began harvesting on September 6. All of the reds were made from 100% destemmed fruit. Maceration times varied from wine to wine, but according to Lardiere all of the wines were made with essentially the same approach. Lardiere is another of the producers who compares 2009 to 1959, and believes the wines will age well because of their density of fruit and minerality. Many of the estate’s own vineyards are farmed biodynamically, but of course Jadot also sources a significant amount of wine from other growers that is not necessarily from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

Rosehip, some sappy notes, dark fruit, dry and firm, moderate length. Not overwhelming, not especially underwhelming ... just … whelming. (RH)

Good full red. Redcurrant, cherry and ripe herbs on the nose, complicated by subtle soil tones. Sweet, silky, pliant and fairly full; this really spreads out to coat the plate. A very horizontal style of wine, and nicely filled in from the start. Finishes broad, ripe and classically dry, with very good persistence and a medicinal reserve.