2009 Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot

Bright pale yellow. Lemon, oak char and a whiff of iodine on the nose. Concentrated but brisk and light on its feet, with excellent definition to the lemon and saline flavors. Good sappy, dry wine, given juiciness on the back by lively lemony acidity. Offers excellent cut for the cru and for the vintage.

The 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot reveals the body and depth of this site, but in a fairly restrained inward style. Initially rather focused, the wine opens up beautifully on the mid-palate and finish, with soft layers of white peaches, lime, flowers and minerals. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Thomas Morey began harvesting on September 12th. The wines went into oak (30% new) with very fine lees and saw little batonnage. The 2009s were bottled before the 2010 harvest. Stylistically the wines are very bright, and at times, piercing. It also appears that the relatively early bottling plus the qualities of the 2009 vintage are factors to tend to flatten out some of thedifferences between sites here. Today it looks like the 2010s are ultimately more complete as well as promising, wines. Morey describes the 2010s has having both higher sugars and acidities than the 2009s. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Creamy and a surprising hint of cumin on the nose. Very very fresh and tight on the palate. Pure and long and arrow-like but not in the least lean. Dense and very impressive. (JH)