2009 Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses

The 2009 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses comes across as huge and super concentrated. There is plenty of textural richness and depth, but the wine is going to need a lot of time to shed its baby fat. The impeccable, textured finish makes me hopeful elegance will develop here, but today the Amoureuses is a bit clunky. The estate gave the Amoureuses 50% new oak. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034. This is a stunning set of wines from Patrick Landager. The vintage yielded a set of super-sized, big wines that may shock some readers for their sheer intensity. These are among some of the most backward 2009s I tasted and will require considerable patience. The estate now farms a total of 19 hectares, which includes the vineyards Landager acquired when he bought Domaine Moine-Hudelot a few years back. In 2009 Landager started harvesting on September 22, when most people were already finished picking. Cuvaison started with 5-6 days of cold maceration and lasted a total of three weeks with one punchdown in the morning and a second in the afternoon. The wines spent 12-15 months in oak (roughly 30% new) on their fine lees with no rackings until they were prepared for bottling, which took place with no fining or filtration. (Note: the Chambolle saw 50% new oak). All of the 2009s were bottled in early February 2010. Importers: North Berkeley Wine, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880; a Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93

Deep, bright ruby-red. Strong soil tones to the aromas of black raspberry, mocha, truffle, underbrush and spicy oak; quite dark in its fruit character. Then sweet and sappy in the mouth, offering more floral and peppery lift than the nose would have suggested. This really expands toward the back, conveying a strong impression of energy and excellent finishing definition. Very long and subtle wine.