It’s no surprise that proprietor Alfred Tesseron has produced a possibly perfect 2009. He’s been on a roll since 1994, and no other producer has done more work in the vineyard than Tesseron, who has moved to 100% bio-dynamic farming, reduced yields drastically, and instituted a draconian selection process. This vineyard, which sits on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, has produced a 2009 of extraordinary intensity and purity. It is outrageously concentrated, with silky tannin (the sweetest I have ever tasted in a Pontet-Canet as well as the highest measured), an opaque purple color, and copious notes of graphite, cassis, licorice, and subtle smoke and forest floor. Full-bodied and unctuously textured with striking purity and definition, it is a wine of colossal weight as well as elegance (in itself a poster boy for this paradox in 2009).