2009 Corton Renardes

Santenots and this vineyard are usually the first to be picked. Very deep. Certain grand cru quality though it has quite a different character – sweeter than the Gevrey that preceded it. Very firm and bitter cherry. Ambitious. (JR)

The 2009 Corton-Renardes hits the palate with waves of dark red fruit, smoke and incense. This is a decidedly virile, powerful wine, very much in keeping with the personality of the site. Exotic aromas and flavors come together beautifully in the glass as the wine opens up. This is a totally beautiful Burgundy, but it will appeal most to readers who like firm, structured wines. It’s incredible to think this is the first of eight premier crus at Leroy! Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. This was my first opportunity to taste the 2009s from Domaine Leroy in bottle. Lalou Bize-Leroy was among the first, if not the first, to bottle her 2009s, so she naturally wanted to give the wines some time to recover before showing them. The wines are stunning. Readers who have an opportunity to taste them should not hesitate. As always, the style is one of textural richness and depth, but the2009s appear to have excellent underlying material as well. The attention to every detail at the Domaine is quite evident in these thrilling wines. My visit ended with a sample of the 2010 Chambertin from barrel. Why not go straight to the top? If that wine is representative of the year, Leroy fans will have another superb vintage to look forward to, although yields will be lower than the already minuscule production. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040

The sheer density of fruit here is nothing short of remarkable and the complexity is equally amazing and words cannot really do justice to the breadth of aromas though it is worth noting that there is veritable profusion of the classic sauvage character of a fine Renardes along with notes of plum-like liqueur, earth and a smoky hint. This is a huge and powerful wine with overtly muscular flavors that ooze both minerality and tannin-buffering extract before culminating in a lavish finish of spectacular length. In my view, this is the finest Leroy Renardes since the unbelievable 1999.