The 2009 Nuits St.-Georges Les Proces (from the southern part of the village) comes across as tightly coiled and tense for the year, even for Nuits. Sweet spiced cherries and crushed flowers are some of the notes that emerge from this focused wine. There is enough sweetness to make me think the fruit will emerge in another few years, so I am hopeful here. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2024. Drouhin farms 75 hectares of vineyards according to biodynamic principles. Maceration and fermentation lasts about three weeks. The wines are then racked into oak in a cold part of the cellar to slow down the malos, although in 2009 they were entirely done by December. The estate leaves the wines on their lees for several months with one racking, or two if needed, prior to being assembled for bottling. New oak ranges from 25% for the entry-level wines to 50-65% for the grand crus. Veronique Drouhin thinks the 2009s will stay open throughout their lives, much as the 1985s have. All of these 2009s were bottled between early December, 2010 and January, 2011. Importer: Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770

Mulberry, cassis and minerals on the nose. The richness is there: it is rounded and ebullient with seductive fruit yet retains focus. Has a protracted, complex finish.