The 2009 Volnay Santenots du Milieu comes across as quite dark and inward. Iron, tar, minerals, earthiness and dark fruit are some of the notes that emerge from this powerful Burgundy. The Santenots du Milieu shows remarkable inner tension and energy, with insistent mineral and floral notes that give lift to the finish. This is another strong effort, but not as exciting as Lalou Bize’s 2009s from the C?te de Nuits. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. This was my first opportunity to taste the 2009s from Domaine Leroy in bottle. Lalou Bize-Leroy was among the first, if not the first, to bottle her 2009s, so she naturally wanted to give the wines some time to recover before showing them. The wines are stunning. Readers who have an opportunity to taste them should not hesitate. As always, the style is one of textural richness and depth, but the2009s appear to have excellent underlying material as well. The attention to every detail at the Domaine is quite evident in these thrilling wines. My visit ended with a sample of the 2010 Chambertin from barrel. Why not go straight to the top? If that wine is representative of the year, Leroy fans will have another superb vintage to look forward to, although yields will be lower than the already minuscule production. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040