The 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet Tete du Clos Morgeots is another gorgeous, multidimensional wine. Here the style is decidedly cool and vibrant at the outset, although the wine blossoms with superb intensity on the mid-palate, finishing with considerable substance and vinosity. This is a standout from Benjamin Leroux. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021.
Benjamin Leroux is one of Burgundy’s most promising young winemakers. Leroux is best known for the wines he makes at Comte Armand, one of the reference-point properties in the Cote de Beaune. Since 2007 Leroux has made wines under his own label using a micro-negociant model that has become increasingly popular in Burgundy. Leroux sources fruit from some of Burgundy’s top sites and bottles an eye-popping 27 different wines, most in 2-3 barrel lots. I also tasted a number of 2009 whites. Leroux goes for a tight, mineral-driven style, with no stirring of the lees and ages the whites in 300-liter barrels. Leroux’s passion, ambition and sheer talent have already resulted in a number of stunning, beautiful wines, but my sense is that the best is yet to come.
A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, imported by Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803, C’Est Vin, District of Columbia; tel. (703) 243-3559, Scott Paul Wines, Oregon; tel. (503) 852-7300, Wines Unlimited, Louisiana; tel. (504) 897-0191