This is riper still with a complex melange of red and blue pinot fruit, violets, lavender, earth and a hint of spice that precedes the rich, supple and powerful flavors that are underpinned by sophisticated tannins and a balanced, minerally and gorgeously long finish. This is strikingly complex and by far and away the best showing of this wine that I have ever seen, at least at such an early juncture.

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Medium pale red. Cool, nuanced nose offers black cherry, blackberry, mocha, licorice, wildflowers and illegal herbs. Supple and fine-grained on entry, then more tightly knit in the middle than the Mazy, with good penetration to its dark fruit, herb and licorice flavors. The darkest, coolest and most medicinal of the 2009s I samped from Rousseau. Finishes with suave, dusty tannins and lovely persistence.

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Bright mid cherry red. Very light nose – these wines to show the vintage in its true colours perhaps without any effort to concentrate it!? But lovely freshness on the palate. Real excitement – the only one with all destemmed grapes. Dances. Hailed in May and so lower yields than most - it seems to show! Very long. NO new oak.

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The 2009 Clos de la Roche is so beautiful today I could hardly blame anyone who chooses to enjoy this superb wine in its youth. Silky tannins frame an expressive core of fruit in this perfumed, polished Burgundy. The 2009 is quite a bit more floral and higher-toned than the 2010, perhaps because of the greater use of whole clusters during fermentation.

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