Our tasting notes are – phew – now just about complete. For a guide to our comprehensive coverage of this exceptional vintage, see Burgundy 2009 – a guide.
FRÉDÉRIC MAGNIEN
Red
Mid low-key stuff, very chewy, hard work! (JR)
Drink:
2016
–
2022
Price: £495 per case ib Jeroboams
Red
Dense and sweet AND RICH. Full of easy appeal though too simple and full of cloves to be really interesting! (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2022
Price: £475 per case ib Jeroboams
DOMAINE MICHEL MAGNIEN
Red
Sweet and rich cocktail. Not easy, slightly harsh. (JR)
Drink:
2016
–
2022
Price: £485 per case of 6 ib Jeroboams
DOMAINE JEAN-PAUL ET STÉPHANE MAGNIEN
Red
Blueish crimson. Attractive development on the nose. Though much tougher on the palate. The Gamay really insists on the palate. (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £75 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Mid cherry fruit. A bit austere and lean. Though at least not sickly... (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £225 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Some richness on the palate and freshness too. Well sculpted though a tough end. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2019
Price: £255 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Rich yet mossy nose. Sweet start. Very lively. Lots of delivery of fresh fruit. (JR)
Drink:
2017
–
2022
Price: £395 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Racy and rich and full bodied yet not too sweet. This is a real charmer. (JR)
Drink:
2017
–
2023
Price: £345 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Lively and racy and sweet. Rather astringent and austere. Even sour on the end. (JR)
Drink:
2017
–
2022
Price: £325 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Quite sweet and liquoureux. Reasonably gentle and concentrated. But a teensy bit tarted up. (JR)
Drink:
2017
–
2025
Price: £645 per case ib Bordeaux Index
Red
Lots of autumn mulch on the nose. Then masses of acidity on the palate, oddly. Chewy and embryonic. (JR)
Drink:
2017
–
2025
Price: £695 per case ib Bordeaux Index
DOMAINE DES MALANDES
White
50% fermented and aged in oak (not new). Slightly more herbal than Les Clos. More obvious power on the palate. Tight and fresh and long. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2019
White
Fermented and aged in oak (not new). Light and minerally, slight sulphur catch in the throat at the moment but this will go. Creamy, direct, lemony peristence. Clear, well defined and richer on the palate than the nose suggested. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2018
DOMAINE MAROSLAVAC-LEGER
White
Putty nose. Great tension, partly thanks to the dissolved carbon dioxide... Just a little sweet. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2018
Price: £220 per case ib Goedhuis
White
Sweet and a bit dull. Heavy. Easy but not thrilling. Still a bit chewy on the end. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2018
Price: £295 per case ib Goedhuis
White
Cool and sherbetty. Round and insistent but a bit astringent. Earthbound. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2019
Price: £345 per case ib Goedhuis
DOMAINE MARQUIS D'ANGERVILLE
Red
Proper tremulous stuff. Lots of effort here – maybe even a little bit too much? Lots of tension. Dry finish. Even a little painful to taste now. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2022
Price: £420 per case ib Justerini & Brooks; £420 per case ib Armit
Red
Proper stuff. Very serious and dry. Very firm. Dry finish. Lots of depth and subtlety. Very youthfully chewy. (JR)
Drink:
2016
–
2023
Price: £480 per case, or £495 per case of 6 magnums, or £225 for one jeroboam ib Justerini & Brooks; £480 per case ib Armit
Red
Heady and rich and really rather gorgeous. Very sumptuous. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2024
Price: £725 per case, or £740 per case of 6 magnums, or £295 for one jeroboam ib Justerini & Brooks; £725 per case ib Armit (on allocation)
Red
Faint cherry aroma. Fruity and fresh and lightly built. Easy now and scented on the mid palate. (JH)
Drink:
2011
–
2014
Price: £395 per case ib Armit
DOMAINE MARTELET DE CHERISEY
Impressive.
White
Dry, cool, serious, herby. Great precision and texture. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2018
Price: £420 per case ib Justerini & Brooks
White
Very vibrant and reverberant yet rich and haunting. Like a tip-top Riesling (no greater praise..?) Very clean and fresh and impressive. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £420 per case ib Justerini & Brooks
White
Very minerally and a little austere. Chewy and long and dense. Serious. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2019
Price: £430 per case, or £445 per case of 6 magnums ib Justerini & Brooks
DOMAINE THIERRY ET PASCALE MATROT
White
Creamy and gentle but with a mineral edge. Then a fine grain and more texture than flavour on the palate. But there a nice savoury, lingering aftertaste. (JH)
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £105 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Distinctive nose: appley but a little sweet too. Firm and dry and chalky textured. Lingering. (JH)
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £285 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Sweet and rich and perfumed like a violet cachou. Not really very echt. (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £260 per case ib Bibendum
White
Very attractive reductive scent – quite different from the other two Matrot wines tasted at Bibendum. A little chewy on the end though – a bit attenuated. No great concentration. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £400 per case ib Bibendum; £415 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Smoky, lightly oaky nose and lemon freshness. Creamy lemon on the palate. Smooth, dense and finishes fresh. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2016
Price: £395 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Subtle, lightly smoky citrus. Pear-grained texture, freshness but not much fruit flavour. Very textural wine. Fresh finish but somehow neutral-tasting. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2016
Price: £165 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Creamy oatmeal and a touch of oak spice. Inviting. A little reductive on the palate, again more texture than flavour. Concentrated and determined. Better with food, I imagine. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £195 per case ib Corney & Barrow
White
Light and minerally. But with a sweet undertow. Not quite refreshing enough. Also pretty chewy on the end. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2016
Price: £395 per case ib Bibendum
Red
Pale pinkish cherry colour. Light, fresh, bright and lively. Very approachable. (JH)
Drink:
2011
–
2014
Price: £120 per case ib Corney & Barrow
Red
Savoury, darkish fruit. Sweeter than I expected on the palate, red cherry, then fine-grained. Correct. Nice length. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2016
Price: £205 per case ib Corney & Barrow
Red
Gentle, fragrant red fruit. Fairly slight but harmonious and fresh. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £205 per case ib Corney & Barrow
Red
Ripe and sweet but lively. Firm, dry but paper-fine tannins. A bit drying on the finish but the acidity is fresh. (JH)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £205 per case ib Corney & Barrow
Red
Fresh cherry fruit. Ripe, almost raisiny taste but there’s freshness too. Papery dry tannins. (JH)
Drink:
2014
–
2017
Price: £325 per case ib Corney & Barrow
DOMAINE MÉO-CAMUZET and MÉO-CAMUZET FRÈRE ET SOEURS
Very dark colours and much increased prices. A few wines had sufficient fruit to stand up to the oak treatment.
Red
Pale crimson and sweet and easy. Actually less exaggerated than the Domaine wines. But very early maturing. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £POA per case ib Lay & Wheeler
Red
Dark crimson. Sweet and a bit tarted up on the nose. Spicy. Certainly intense but not desperately natural. Lots of fruit and acidity. Rather rasping tannins. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2018
Price: £345 per case ib Goedhuis
Red
Smells more of cellar than vineyard and really quite tough. Chewy end. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2017
Price: £160 per case ib Goedhuis
Red
Sweet and intense and jewelly. Lots of impact even if a bit more oak than I would ideally like. Raw finish. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2020
Red
Gentler than the village Gevrey until the severe menthol note at the end. A bit harsh. Drying tannins on the finish. This does not seem to me to be the spirit of Burgundy... (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Red
Bright crimson. Scented and rather voluptuous. Here is fruit that seems to stand up to the Méo oak! Fresh and vibrant and upright and delivers lots of (very slightly oaky) pleasure. Lots of sweetness. Very clean and refreshing. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2020
Price: £475 per case of 6 ib Goedhuis
Red
Serious stuff. Firm. Verging on rigid but correct. Dry finish but the fruit is sufficient for the structure. (JR)
Drink:
2016
–
2023
Price: £475 per case of 6 ib Goedhuis
Red
Very dark crimson. Burnt fruit edge to this. The oak is a bit obvious. Lots of concentration but not much subtlety. Edgy and jagged. (JR)
Drink:
2018
–
2028
Price: £1,050 per case of 6 ib Goedhuis
Red
Scented and just very slightly tarty. Big and sweet and smooth but not nearly as exciting as the Clos Vougeot. Chewy, almost rasping finish. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2023
Price: £725 per case of 6 ib Goedhuis
Red
'Près le Château' they say. (But not on the label.) [We have since found out that in 2009, as there was a substantial crop, Jean-Nicolas decided to separate out his two cuvees of Clos de Vougeot, as they are separate parcels. They were originally going to be called ‘Pres le Chateau’ and ‘Grand Maupertuis’, but the powers that be vetoed any mention of ‘Chateau’ in the descriptor at the last minute, so what might have been listed as ‘Pres le Chateau’ in a merchant’s opening offer turned up labelled as ‘Pres le Cellier’.]
Dark, substantial colour. Rich and substantial. Bit of a banker of wine (by which I mean someone with a pot belly behind a waistcoat rather than something that’s easy to guess.) Really pretty impressive and concentrated. Fresh too. Reverberates on the finish. (JR)
Dark, substantial colour. Rich and substantial. Bit of a banker of wine (by which I mean someone with a pot belly behind a waistcoat rather than something that’s easy to guess.) Really pretty impressive and concentrated. Fresh too. Reverberates on the finish. (JR)
Drink:
2016
–
2028
Price: £725 per case of 6 ib Goedhuis
DOMAINE OLIVIER MERLIN
A bit fat and rich.
White
Racy, creamy nose. Very sweet start – just not really refreshing enough even though it has, as usual, been beautifully made. Good precision but just a tad too rich. (JR)
Drink:
2011
–
2013
Price: £111 per case ib BBR
White
Firm ripe lime juice on the nose. Very rich start indeed. Still quite chewy and even a bit hot on the end. (JR)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2011
–
2014
Price: £174 per case ib BBR
White
Muted, relatively low-key nose, and still pretty sweet on the start though there is more freshness on the finish than on the other two Merlin wines tasted. Very fruity rather than mineral in this vintage. No great persistence. (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £186 per case ib BBR
DOMAINE LOUIS MICHEL
15.5
/20
White
Light, pretty, easy. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2019
Price: £48 per case of 6 ib Howard Ripley
White
Nervy and exciting. Not enormous purity but it does the business. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £75 per case of 6 ib Howard Ripley
White
Good crisp cut even if not the most intense. Rather soft on the finish though alas. (JR)
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £149 per case ib OW Loeb
White
Reasonably find but there’s just a bit of 2009 smudginess occluding it. Chalky finish. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £165 per case ib OW Loeb
White
Light nose and then a bit smudgy. Not the density one would expect of Les Clos. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2021
Price: £315 per case ib OW Loeb
White
Floral and easy on the nose – lively, fresh green scents. Really quite rich and dense. But definitely soft. Competent but no extra mile of tension. (JR)
Drink:
2015
–
2019
Price: £132 per case of 6 ib Howard Ripley; £269 per case ib OW Loeb
DOMAINE FRANÇOIS MIKULSKI
15.5
/20
White
A blend from three lieux dits. Bit rich and smudgy. Low acid! (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2016
Price: £275 per case ib Bordeaux Index
White
Lacks a bit of concentration. Easy... (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2016
Price: £435 per case ib Bordeaux Index
White
Fine and herbal and solid but just a little heavy and chewy in style. Hot end with some sweetness. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £465 per case ib Bordeaux Index
DOMAINE JEAN-MARC MILLOT...
