95+ John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"The Clos des Billards is a special, old vine bottling of this great estate, produced from the filet section of the vineyard. My notes do not indicate when it has been produced before, and I suspect that the 2009 vintage is the first where this has been done, as I have not tasted any previous vintages of the Clos des Billards. This is a deep, structured and very pure example of the vintage, offering up a beautiful and youthful bouquet of red and black cherries, a touch of blood orange, dark chocolate, deep soil tones, woodsmoke and a nice dollop of juniper berries in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and structured much more like a young bottle of Morgon than a young St. Amour, with a beautiful core of sappy fruit, ripe, firm tannins and excellent focus and balance on the very long, tangy and primary finish. This will be a great, great example of the vintage."