Written: September 2023

This report is presented by Steve Pritchard. Further reports from Champagne by Steve will become a regular item for Inside Burgundy. Jasper Morris.

Introduction

After a remarkable and unique vintage in 2008, Mother Nature rolled the dice again and came up with a completely different blueprint for 2009.  The two vintages couldn’t have been more opposite: the intensity, acidity, and general coolness of the 2008 vintage contrasts with the yellow-fruited, ripe generosity of 2009.

After tasting the vin clairs (the clear still wines assembled to make the final blend) early in 2010, it was easy to envisage a bright future for the wines of 2009.  Aromatic maturity and full-bodied ripeness made 2009 an easy vintage to taste; the vin clairs were bright, well-structured, and balanced.

More than a decade on, this is turning out to be an excellent vintage.  Some wines suffered from that lack of precision, but the majority have turned out to be superb.

This tasting report may seem biased towards Grandes Marques with the absence of many grower releases; this doesn’t reflect my tastes but is a factor of when this report was written (2023, 14 years after harvest).  Growers tend to release their vintage wines earlier and with much less production volume making it difficult to keep track over the years.  I hope to cover more grower champagnes in the future as part of a regular “New Releases” feature.

Growing Season and Harvest

Summer returned in full force early in July, and warm, sunny days would remain the pattern for the rest of the growing season right through the harvest early in September.  There was virtually no rainfall from mid-July until the end of October. The harvest kicked off on 8th September under glorious blue skies.  The harvested grapes were in perfect condition (thanks to the ideal dry weather of the summer) with almost no incidence of rot.

Analysis

2009 is a typical warm vintage, possessing plush aromatics and a ripe structure, with many wines showing an early “buttery fatness.”  Despite its low acidity, this vintage is not overblown or heavy as some warm vintages can be, and many wines are delightfully fresh and precise.

An impressive feature of this vintage was its “cleanness,” with minimal incidence of rot anywhere in the appellation.

Alcohol levels clocked in at an average of 10.3%, with total acidity of 7.5g/l (expressed as sulfuric) and a pH of 3.08.  Compare that to 2008: 9.8% average alcohol, acidity of 8.6g/l, and pH of just under 3; you can see how different these vintages are.  Yet if 2009 were repeated today, it would be viewed as a higher acid, slightly cooler vintage than the norm (such are the effects of climate change); for example, 2018 had total acidity around 6g/l and a pH of 3.13!

Time has been kind to the 2009 vintage in bottle; the buttery fatness that marked many of the wines in their youth has disappeared, and fruit is dominating.  Its greatest misfortune (and why it is sometimes overlooked as a grand vintage) is following the 2008 vintage and financial crisis.  Please do not ignore these wines; they may be stylistically different from 2008, but they are worthy of your cellar.