2009 Mongeard-Mugneret, Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru Red Burgundy. "Producer note: Vincent Mongeard describes 2009 as a "very clean crop and thank goodness because if this size crop had been less than clean, the sorting job would have been monstrous, in fact, so much so that we would undoubtedly have had to use refrigerated trucks the way that we did in 2003. I elected to begin picking on the 9th of September and brought in very ripe fruit, indeed it's the first time that I have ever seen this kind of quality linked to this kind of quantity and that includes both 1990 and 1999. Had the quantities been lower I would have used a good percentage of whole clusters in the vinification but I just had no tank space except for the three grands crus. Overall, I really like the quality of the '09s because not only are they excellent but there is a tenderness to the wines that makes them very appealing." Mongeard noted that he had pulled all samples from new barrels, which of course in one sense allows for an apples to apples comparison between wines but it also renders it more difficult to have any precise idea as to how much new wood will be in the final blend. The big-bodied flavors are also admirably concentrated and quite serious with a brooding character as well as a very firm yet ripe tannic spine that is well-buffered by the ample sap. Like the old vines Ech, this should be capable of absorbing its wood if given a few years in bottle first." (91-93 BurgHound)