2009 Charmes Chambertin

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin shows excellent suppleness in its round fruit. This is a generous, open style with good balance, even if the wine lacks the sheer excitement of the best selections here. Bright red fruits and flowers inform the open, accessible finish. The Charmes is made from purchased wine. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027. I tasted an impressive range of wines with Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier, who is slated to take over when Lardiere retires at the end of 2012. Jadot makes a mind-bending number of wines, but I limited myself to the best 35 or so examples. In 2009 Jadot began harvesting on September 6. All of the reds were made from 100% destemmed fruit. Maceration times varied from wine to wine, but according to Lardiere all of the wines were made with essentially the same approach. Lardiere is another of the producers who compares 2009 to 1959, and believes the wines will age well because of their density of fruit and minerality. Many of the estate’s own vineyards are farmed biodynamically, but of course Jadot also sources a significant amount of wine from other growers that is not necessarily from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756