2009 Savigny Les Beaune Les Lavieres

(finished its malo in November of 2009; racked last week but still on its lees; 80% vendange entier Good red-ruby. Liqueur-like aromas of black raspberry and black cherry, with a violet topnote. Creamy-sweet and chunky, with a distinctly high-toned quality. A big, chocolatey wine, finishing with chewy tannins and good peppery verve. These grapes reached 14% potential alcohol on September 17, due in large part to the tiny crop of 23 hectoliters per hectare. "These old vines suffered from mildew in 2008 and thus couldn't produce a lot of fruit in 2009," noted Claude de Nicolay. "We pruned to four clusters per vine."