(two-thirds new oak; has the highest pH of these 2009s, at 3.7) Red-ruby. Knockout multidimensional nose combines red berries, licorice, orange peel and pungent smoky minerality. Dense, sappy, sweet and very young; much more about soil than pinot noir fruit. Offers intriguing saline and orange peel notes, plus a licorice quality that Hervet says comes from soil rich in silica (like Vosne-Romanee Les Reignots). Wonderfully tactile finish offers outstanding lift and some sweet new oak. This got better and better in the glass.

Don't miss! Compelling aromas of extremely fresh and airy menthol-infused red berry fruit, soil and distinctly spiced tones plus an underlying hint of animale transfers over to the rich, full and serious broad-shouldered flavors brimming with dry extract and supported by impressively refined and ripe tannins that are almost completely buffered on the powerful and balanced finish by the buckets of mid-palate sap. Terrific. Drink: 2026+
– Burghound.com, Issue 41. Tasted: Jan 2011