Not surprisingly, the 2009s are softer, more front end-loaded wines. The 2009 Cote Rotie Classique saw about 60-70% new oak casks in this concentrated vintage. It reveals a dense purple color along with a beautiful bouquet of frying lard and bacon, blackberries, raspberries, forest floor and spring flowers. The sweetness of the tannin, the wine's opulent, fleshy mouthfeel and long, layered finish make for a sumptuous Cote Rotie to drink over the next 10-15 years. Ogier's wines just keep getting better and better, so if you haven-t yet jumped on the Ogier bandwagon, it's time to do so. Michel Ogier, and more recently his son, Stephane, are the leading craftsmen in terms of wines from the steep hillsides north of the old Roman town of Vienne. These are still entitled to only a VDP designation, but current vintages are the finest he has yet produced.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083