UNWINED Sponsored Events SAVE THE DATE! Friday November 11, 2011 8pm Vineyard Brands 2009 Burgundy Seminar at our Belle View Location   Burgundy is already heralding 2009 as a great vintage. History is on the region's side. The vintages on the "nines" have produced some memorable harvests—years like 1999, 1989, 1969, 1959 and 1949. Certainly, if one adheres to the old adage, Août fait le mout—literally, “August makes the must,” the vintage shows promise. During that month, rainfall was well below average, while both temperatures and sunlight hours were above average. August was hot, dry and sunny. The good weather continued right up through harvest, though rain around the middle of October forced those with any fruit still hanging to pick quickly. Fortunately, the moisture in May, June and July provided enough reserves to prevent any serious drought conditions. The dry weather at the end of the season contributed to healthy fruit at harvest and very little sorting. A few growers, like Aubert de Villaine at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Romain Taupenot of Domaine Taupenot-Merme experienced a lot of millerandage in 2009, meaning the berries are small, with thick skins. In the end, some areas had good quantities, while others, particularly in those hit by hail, saw yields 20 percent to 30 percent lower than average. Extraction came easily, by most accounts, giving wines of deep color and abundant fruit. Alcohol levels in the wines are high, generally reaching a minimum of 13 degrees, but often in the 13.5- to 14-degree range. That, combined with healthy fruit and lower-than-usual acidity levels, resulted in fleshy, forward reds that in some cases lack the structure of a vintage like 2005. "So far this vintage looks like it has a great balance of acidity, ripe tannins, concentration and finesse, a vintage whose level of quality most producers would happily duplicate each year," said Taupenot. December 2009, Wine Spectator