The 2009 Chevalier-Montrachet seems to combine elements of the Bienvenues and Batard. An open, floral bouquet melds into in sweet fruit, white flowers and the essence of crushed rocks. The Chevalier possesses striking inner perfume and fabulous balance as it wraps around the palate in stunning style. Leflaive's parcels are located on the higher parts of the slope. 2019+. Domaine Leflaive is one of the pioneers in biodynamic viticulture in Burgundy. The first experiments began in 1990 and by 1997 all of the vineyards had been converted to biodynamic farming. Winemaker Eric Remy describes the 2009 growing season in considerable detail. The winter was long but mild. The last frost occurred on March 23. Temperatures were normal until the last week of the month, when the weather turned warmer. Flowering began on May 22. The rest of the spring and summer were warm, while a big storm in mid-July dropped 8cm of rain. The rest of the summer was quite warm. The harvest began on September 5, about ten days earlier than normal. Average yields were around 45 hectoliters per hectare. The wines were aged for 12 months in oak followed by 6-8 months in steel. New oak ranged from 10% for the Bourgogne, 15% for the villages, 20% for the premier crus and 25% for the grand crus. The 2009s were bottled between April and June 2011. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661

Bright yellow. Crystallized lemon peel, licorice and stony minerality on the nose. Dense but juicy on entry, then concentrated and brisk in the middle, with penetrating flavors of yellow fruits, minerals and crushed stone. Powerfully built but quite tight today; not as broad as the Batard but boasts terrific verve for the year. A distinctly vertical style of wine that gives an impression of strong sucrosite and firm acidity, almost in the style of a 2008. Wonderfully harmonious wine in the making, but lay it down.

The 2009 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru comes from an era when it's a bit like Russian Roulette trying to avoid premox'd bottles. Fortunately, this bottle is fine. It has an exquisite, haunting bouquet with hints of white truffle and yellow fruit bursting in slow motion. Lemon balm hints appear throughout. The palate is well-balanced with superb weight. Plenty of extract lends umami towards the finish. This convincing Chevalier-Montrachet will age well in bottle.

A charming, fleshy wine, the 2009 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru offers up a generous bouquet of ripe citrus fruit, confit lemon, pears, warm bread, honeycomb and mandarin. On the palate, it's full-bodied, lavish and enveloping, with a textural attack, a rich and ample core of fruit and a long, expansive finish. This is a ripe but open-knit vintage of Leflaive's Chevalier, even though with 13.45% alcohol it's lower-octane than all the top vintages of the Pierre Morey era. If the wine has a fault, it's one extensible to the vintage as a whole: a lack of liveliness and tension.