Accompanied by my friends and contributing editors, John Brincko and Geoffrey Troy, I have just returned from one week in Burgundy tasting the 2009 vintage wines from barrel. I first went to Burgundy in 1981 and began tasting the wines from barrel with the 1983 vintage. And, what a vintage to start! The 1983 vintage had a lot of rot and grape selection then was nothing like it is today. Hence, there were a lot of dry, dirty wines. But, yet from barrel there were some that were quite rich and flavorful. It was perplexing to say the least! (In a future Retrospective Review article I will review the tasting of the 1983s).

Now, after tasting some two dozen vintages from barrel, and nearly 30 years later, we have the 2009s. WOW! They are remarkable. Never have I experienced the kind of fruit that is abundant in the 2009 Red Burgundies. Very simply, although it is still very early, this looks to be one of the really great vintages. Since the tasting of the 1983s, the 1990s and the 2005s are the two best vintages I have ever tasted from barrel. The 2009s should be exceptional as well and there seems to be more of them! I will report on the 2009s in a future article which should be posted in the next few weeks. If you love Burgundy, this is an article you will not want to miss! Stay tuned!!

In Vino Veritas,

John Tilson