Eric Rousseau's daughter Cyrielle, who is gradually assuming control of day-to-day operations and is overseeing an expansion of the cuverie, briefly described the 2019 growing season as "yet another one that was so hot and dry that we again thought, wrongly as it turned out, that we would have baked fruit and heavy wines. Happily, despite the heat and drought-like conditions, the vines didn't really suffer much, or at least not enough to shut down their photosynthetic processes. These conditions also keep disease pressure at bay so the fruit couldn't have been any cleaner and the only sorting required was to eliminate a few sunburned berries. We chose to begin picking on the 12th of September and brought in very ripe yet balanced fruit as there was good acidity thanks to the relatively cool nights. The berries were relatively tiny with thick skins and potential alcohols ranged from 13.2 to a high of 14.5%. We vinified softly as we always do and there were no problems with the primary fermentations though some of the malos were slow to finish. As to the wines, I personally adore the 2019s for their freshness, verve, and transparency. They're balanced and so refreshing that they're already irresistible. I wouldn't necessarily call them better than our 2018s, but they are certainly different styles and I prefer the 2019s, at least for now."
A ripe but reasonably cool nose offers up notes of plum, earth, mocha and a whiff of the sauvage. The exceptionally rich, concentrated and opulent flavors flash both good power and a subtle minerality on the sappy and slightly warm finale. Drink: 2029+