2009 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet Les Champgains 1er Cru

The 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet Champgains comes across as quite pretty and delicate, with nicely layered aromatics and highly expressive fruit. This really opens up beautifully in all directions, showing terrific fleshiness and plenty of freshness. Hints of mint, flowers and white peaches wrap around the mineral-laced finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. I tasted all of these wines with Michel Niellon in his huge warehouse facility just outside of Chassagne. The 2009s are made in a style that emphasizes freshness. Niellon thinks wines peak at 6-7 years after releases and he is clearly going for an accessible style. That said, I found all the wines all shows better with air, except for the Chevalier, which unfortunately remained stubborn throughout my visit. I hope to have a chance to retaste it in the future. The 2009s saw 25% new oak. The wines are racked in July, after the malos, and were bottled before the 2010 harvest. Niellon told me he might pursue longer elevage for some of his wines now that space is not a constraint. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

High-pitched aromas of flowers, mint and menthol, plus a whiff of wet stone; more minerally and less fruity than the Chaumees. Then round, dense and sweet on the palate but with a pronounced stony quality to its concentrated pear and mirabelle flavors. Finishes a tad warm, with lingering notes of menthol and crushed stone. This will probably need a few years of bottle aging.