The 2009 Les Cras from Christophe Roumier is really stunning, as it soars from the glass in a vibrant mélange of sappy red and black cherries, raw cocoa, woodsmoke, gamebirds, a bit of mustard seed, complex soil tones and violets. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with a lovely plushness to the attack, a great core of fruit, very refined, suave tannins, bright acids and impeccable balance on the very, very long and seamless finish. A beautiful vintage of Les Cras.

The 2009 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru puts in a very impressive performance alongside the 2010. With plush red fruit, red cherries intermingling with wild strawberries, this is one of Roumier's most generous Les Cras whilst it retains disarming transparency and precision. The palate is beautifully balanced with crushed stone infusing the red fruit, hints of blood orange and spices. The pixelated finish leaves you just wanting more. This might get even better with continued bottle age. Tasted blind at the Roumier Les Cras vertical at Medlar, London. -- Neal Martin

The 2009 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras is surprisingly huge and powerful, even within the context of the vintage. This is a decidedly sumptuous Chambolle that pushes the edge of ripeness. My impression is that the wine needs a few years to shed its baby fat. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. It is a fascinating to revisit Christophe Roumier’s 2009s from bottle. The lower-end wines are marked by the year to a significantly greater extent than the top wines.- AG