Notes:

View from the Cellar - John Gilman
Jean-Paul Brun first started producing an example of Cte de Brouilly in the 2002
vintage, which was made from purchased grapes. He eventually bought this same parcel
in 2007. The Brun Cte de Brouilly is made from a parcel of forty to forty-five year-old
vines and is a stellar and quite textbook example of this superb cru. The nose on the 2009
is flat out great, as it soars from the glass in a sappy mlange of red and black cherries,
woodsmoke, pomegranate, stony soil tones, cocoa and violets. On the palate the wine is
deep, full-bodied, young and strikingly transparent, with a great core of vivid fruit,
superb focus, a bit of ripe tannin and superb length and grip on the complex and soildriven
finish. While this is certainly approachable today, I would be very much inclined
to tuck this away in the cellar for a handful of years and let all of its secondary and
tertiary layers emerge. It is a great bottle of Cte de Brouilly. 2012-2040+. 93+.

($21)The Brun 2009 Cote de Brouilly allies lushness of texture to liveliness, lift, and refreshment, and ripeness of blackberry and mulberry with a stone-licking undertone as well as invigorating piquancy and tartness that remind me of chomping down on the berry seeds. Notes of black tea, sage, and mineral salts add further complexity. The 2008 version of this wine, incidentally, turned out better than it had appeared to me (right after bottling) when I tasted it for issue 184, but this 2009 is in another, glorious class, making it a superb value! Enjoy it over the next 3-4 years. WA 91