2009 The Sylphs Guman Vineyard
2009 was the first year that we took over pruning and shoot thinning the Guman vineyard. The 2008 harvest was disastrous and we felt that we could not produce a worse result and might do real good. We did. We implemented principles that I had learned in caring for Clos Thales' hundred-year old vines in Maury, and brought production of this struggling 30-year old vineyard up from 600 lbs to nearly a ton. And we got better quality in the grapes, with more even and more leisurely ripening. We harvested on September 19, two weeks later than usual— with more even ripeness and less sugar. Harvest was very exciting for all of us.
This is our best vintage of the Sylphs since the first one, in 2002. We have acheived the highest level of complexity, intensity, and purity in nearly 10 years. There is great richness and power (rivaled only by the 2008), but more purity and balance. The wine looks toward the deepest and richest wines of Montrachet and Meursault in a way that makes us blush with pride.