Shop Wine

wines

(Chambertin- Domaine Dujac) The 2007 Chambertin is also a beautiful bottle in the making, as it offers up a beautiful aromatic mélange of cherries, red plums, coffee, cocoa, a great base of soil, spice tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and magically complex, with great length and grip, flawless focus, a sappy core and superb length on the modestly-tannic and very tangy finish. Quintessential Chambertin. I would love to drink this wine side by side with Éric Rousseau’s example a dozen years from now. (Drink between 2017-2050)John Gilman | 96 JG(Domaine Dujac Chambertin Grand Cru Red) A much more restrained and certainly cooler nose of all red berry fruit aromas that possess obvious mineral and underbrush highlights dissolves into precise, intense and driving medium full flavors that possess simply terrific length and vibrancy. This is not a super concentrated effort but it is extremely well balanced, persistent and classy. A qualitative choice. (Drink starting 2019)Burghound | 91-94 BHBright medium red. Aromas of black cherry, red berries, iron and flowers hint at a liqueur-like ripeness. Dense, sweet and deep, but in a rather polite style for Chambertin, with its fruits and flowers to the fore. But this classy, beautifully balanced wine shows a weightless quality that is compelling.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Blueberry and lemon aromas follow through to a full body, with firm and racy tannins and a delicate finish. This is refined and polished. Drink after 2013.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2007 Langhe Conteisa is impeccably ripe and silky on the palate, with expressive La Morra red fruits, flowers, mint and spices that emerge from the glass. This is another soft, seamless wine from Gaja, with gorgeous purity in the fruit that carries through all the way to the deeply satisfying, creamy finish. The tannins remain impeccably refined and beautifully balanced with the fruit. The wine is likely to firm up a touch in bottle, but it should be one of the most accessible of Gaja’s 2007s. The 2007 is easily among the finest Conteisas ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPFull medium red. Rather unforthcoming but mellow aromas of plum, mocha and licorice. Silky on entry, then more tightly wound toward the back in spite of its plush, layered texture. Lovely raspberry, spice and underbrush flavors blast through the building, granular tannins on the long aftertaste.Vinous Media | 94 VM

Shows sweet herb, dark berry and light smoke on the nose. Full-bodied, offering chewy tannins and plenty of new wood and fruit. Tight and reserved, with plenty to come. Needs some time in the bottle. Best after 2014.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

This was a brilliant showing by the 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve from Rayas, the finest bottle I’ve had to date. Offering a classic ruby color as well as gorgeous notes of kirsch liqueur, sappy green herbs, flowers, and rose petals, this beauty hits the palate with a full-bodied, rich, yet also fresh and vibrant texture that carries nicely integrated acidity and fine tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in this great vintage and is going to have a long life. I’d be thrilled to drink bottles any time over the coming 15+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDI think the Rayas 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape will turn out to eclipse the 2005. It is unequivocally the finest wine made here since Emmanuel Reynaud’s uncle, the late Jacques Reynaud, produced his brilliant 1995. This wine was just released this year, with the 2008 coming on the market in the next few months. The 2007 is a relatively dark ruby/purple-tinged wine, more intensely colored than most Rayas Chateauneufs tend to be, since they are made from 100% Grenache and color has never been one of their hallmarks. The extraordinarily youthful and still burgeoning aromatics of black raspberries, black cherries, truffles and licorice lead to a full-bodied, powerful Rayas with sweet tannin, adequate acidity, and an ethereal richness and unctuosity that delicately offers a sensual texture. It is full-bodied, concentrated and approachable, but won’t hit its peak for at least another 4-5 years and will last for 25 or more. This is a spectacular Rayas, the likes of which hasn’t existed at this qualitative level since 1995.Robert Parker | 98 RPBright ruby. Red berry, cherry and Asian spice aromas are lifted by sexy notes of rose petal and blood orange. Impressively pure and perfumed, with remarkable precision and cut to its concentrated but lively flavors of cherry and black raspberry. The weightless, mineral-driven character of this wine is something else. In a distinctly delicate, feminine style, with superb finishing cut and energy. This will probably cost a fortune when it lands in the U.S. , unfortunately.Vinous Media | 97 VMA very elegant, perfumy style, with shiso leaf and mulled spice notes up front, followed by silky black cherry, linzer torte and kirsch flavors that glide through the incense-tinged finish. There’s good latent depth and fresh acidity without the headiness typical of the vintage. Best from 2012 through 2022. 250 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS is profoundly scented of baked plums, cherry tart and warm wild blueberries with touches of cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise and fertile loam plus an earthy waft of moss-covered tree bark. The palate is a hedonist’s fruit bowl of red, black and blue berry preserves layers in a full-bodied, decadently plush package, with an uplifting line of freshness to balance and an epically long finish. Pure sex in a glass!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPPacks a wallop, with a broad, deep range of flavors, from exotic, spicy, vanilla- and mocha-accented oak to a dense, vibrant core of wild berry and blackberry that flows smoothly, gaining traction and tannic grip on the finish.—Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now through 2026. 250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

(Domaine Anne-Françoise Gros Richebourg Grand Cru Red) Very generous wood fights somewhat at present with the cool, spicy and highly complex nose of red currant, plum and violet aromas that is very much in keeping with the equally spicy rich, full-bodied and tautly muscled flavors that display ample minerality on the balanced, long and linear finish. This is a very serious effort with fine but dense tannins that will require 15 to 20 years for them to fully resolve so this isn’t a precocious Riche. (Drink starting 2023)Burghound | 91-94 BHSurpassing the 2007, Anne Gros’s 2008 Richebourg Grand Cru is showing very well, unfurling in the glass with scents of cassis, cherries, dried flowers, grilled meats and spices. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and nicely concentrated, with melting tannins, racy acids that are elegantly cloaked in succulent fruit and a long, penetrating finish. It makes for dramatic, head-turning drinking today, so there seems little reason to wait.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP(Richebourg- Domaine A-F. Gros) The 2008 Richebourg from A-F. Gros is fairly oaky, but with its wood much better integrated into the main body of the wine on both the nose and palate and posing no threat to the ultimate balance of the wine. The classy nose jumps from the glass in a blend of plums, black cherries, cocoa powder, orange zest, woodsmoke and spicy new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely transparent, with a fine core of fruit, ripe tannins and fine length and grip on the youthful finish. There is plenty of wood in this wine, but it is seamlessly integrated already and does not detract at all from the overall pleasure that the wine delivers. A very good example. (Drink between 2018-2040)John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2008 Brut Grand Cru Millésime was eventually disgorged with only five grams per liter dosage, as Francis Egly and I had discussed last summer, and the wine has turned out just as magically as I anticipated. I have already drunk five or six bottles, and on every occasion, the 2008 has immensely rewarded time in the glass, as it’s as tightly wound as one would expect a great Ambonnay Champagne in a great vintage to be. Blossoming with inviting aromas of orchard fruit, citrus oil, pralines and freshly baked bread, much as I observed last year, it’s full-bodied, deep and layered, with immense depth and concentration, racy acids and elegantly muscular structuring dry extract. Long and penetrating, this will really reward further aging; indeed, Egly mentioned that he intends to keep back some of the 2008 for re-release at a later date, a decision which means more consumers will have the chance to experience the wine at the true peak of its powers. But even at this early stage, it is already a monument to what Champagne’s grower revolution has achieved over the last 30 or so years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RP(Egly-Ouriet, Montagne de Reims, Champagne, France, White) A timeless, benchmark expression of Ambonnay. Primary fermentation in barrique, no malolactic fermentation. Aged 10 years on its lees and bottled with 5g/l dosage. A stunning, complex nose of candied walnuts, cherry pits, nougat and red apples. The palate has boundless energy, leading with a punch of apricots, golden raisins, almonds and orange zest. The length of the finish is extraordinary, oscillating between airy weightlessness and muscular power. The combination of Francis Egly’s meticulous nature and the sturdy clarity of the 2008 vintage is a thing to behold. A wine to enjoy over the next four decades. (Drink between 2020-2060)Decanter | 99 DECJust being released now, the 2008 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is quite possibly the most elegant, most refined Champagne I have ever tasted at Egly-Ouriet. Francis Egly captures the freshness and verve of 2008 as expressed in his vineyards in Ambonnay. That interplay yields a Champagne that is deep, resonant and pulsing with tremendous energy. The Pinot really comes through on a finish that just expands with superb resonance. In a word: brilliant! Disgorged: July, 2019.Antonio Galloni | 96 AG

A candidate for the -wine of the vintage,- the 2008 should have been purchased before it began to soar in value because of the significance of the number 8 in the Chinese culture (denoting good luck). Representing 40% of the production, this blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc offers aromas of high quality unsmoked cigar tobacco, lead pencil shavings, creme de cassis, earth, cedar and asphalt. Full, rich and stunningly concentrated, I doubt it is inferior to the 2010, just more classic as well as slightly more forward and a degree weaker in alcoholic potency (12.5% versus 13.5%). The 2008 should be relatively drinkable in 6-10 years as it is already showing remarkable complexity and breed, and will last for 30-35 years...at the minimum.Robert Parker | 98 RPElegance in a glass, this is very upright in structure with enticing acidity and black berry fruits. It has weight as well as richness. No question about the aging potential of this superb wine. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThis vintage had the bottle engraved with the Chinese symbol for 8, to commemorate the planting of the Penglai vineyards in China. Just starting to really open up, it has the sappy, lean and savoury character of Cabernet Sauvignon from classical years where terroir speaks so strongly. I like this hugely – subtle, beautiful. A smoky edge, cold ash or gun smoke rather than cigar, flint, a menthol finish. Still just settling in, this is starting to offer up its more subtle aromatics, and the pencil lead, cedar edge against spicy cassis notes delivers the refined classified Médoc character that makes these wines so sought after year in year out. 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc.Decanter | 95 DECMinerals, tar and sous bois with dark fruit. Sweet tobacco. Black licorice. Full and chewy with lots of fruit but very reserved. So much mineral and sweet tobacco. It is all there. Give it four to five years of bottle age before beginning to explore the wine.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2008 Lafite Rothschild put in a strange showing at the previous horizontal just a few weeks earlier. This bottle is much better. It has a deep color with little ageing on the rim. On the nose there is ample fruit, blackberry and bilberry with notes of pencil lead and sage, but overall there is just more intensity than the previous bottle. The palate is well balanced with fine grain tannin and good density, a facet occasionally lacking in Lafite-Rothschild. There is just a touch of brown sugar and sage towards the finish that fortunately does not attenuate like the previous bottle. This is much more representative and whilst not the best First Growth of the vintage, it certainly shows more sophistication and class even if it does not match its more stellar showings just after bottling. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMThe 2008 Lafite-Rothschild is one of the few wines that’s still obviously closed and backward, yet nevertheless shows incredible potential. Made from a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc (which is more Merlot than normal), it offers textbook Lafite elegance and class in its perfume of lead pencil, cedarwood, cigar smoke, and mineral-laced black fruits. Playing in the medium to full-bodied spectrum, it’s deceivingly concentrated and powerful due to its perfect balance and purity as well as weightless texture. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy this classic Lafite over the following 30 years or so.Jeb Dunnuck | 94+ JDSupple and harmonious already, with inviting, almost plush blackberry, plum and fig fruit notes carried by fine-grained, lightly cedary structure. Black tea and sandalwood flash on the finish. Poised now, but has the stuffing for more time in bottle.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Disgorged October 2016 and will be the first Cristal to be released ten years from harvest when it is offered in 2018. 35 parcels used from a possible 45 in this vintage. The assemblage is 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay. This is so fresh and tense and mineral with extremely exuberant chardonnay notes on the nose of white peach, lemon and yellow grapefruit, and hints of almost brambly sous bois aromas. The yeast characters are also super fresh, and there are subtle woody notes, with a hint of vanilla bean and light spices. The palate is super long, and very pure, powerful and focused. It drives deep and taut. Pinot noir is a strong core and the chardonnay sits at the edge offering lemon and white nectarine sorbet flavors. Staggeringly concentrated, yet the balance makes it seem airy and light. Acidity is perfectly positioned, and the power is intense and long. This is an ultra precise Cristal, finishing with a mere suggestion of savoriness and warmth to come. Impressive on release, this will be at its best drinking from 2025.James Suckling | 100 JSThis latest incarnation of the famous brand is a superb wine. It is on par with, maybe even better than, the already legendary 2002. Its balance is impeccable: Apple and citrus flavors working with the tight minerality to give a textured yet fruity wine. Produced from Roederer’s own vineyards which are mainly biodynamic, the wine has its own intense purity and crispness. It has amazing potential and is likely to age for many years. Drink from 2020.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThe 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JD(Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Millésime (Reims)) As I mentioned in my feature on Maison Louis Roederer a couple of years ago, the 2008 Cristal was the first vintage here to spend fully ten years in the cellars in Reims prior to release. It is a great, great vintage of Cristal and I was very much looking forward to revisiting it this past November, as it is now due for its re-release from the maison. Readers may recall that this is the “rare bird” of Cristal vintages that included some vins clairs that went through malo, as about sixteen percent of the blend underwent its secondary fermentation prior to blending and bottling for aging sur lattes. The wine is brilliant on both the nose and palate, with time not really seeming to have touched it much since I last tasted a bottle. The bouquet is deep, complex and still properly youthful in personality, wafting from the glass in a fine blend of apple, pear, a touch of fresh almond, complex, chalky minerality, incipient notes of caraway seed, citrus peel and lovely floral tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still fairly primary, with a rock solid core, lovely cut and grip, laser-like focus, refined mousse and a very, very long, very pure and still quite youthful finish. As I have noted in the past, twenty percent of the vins clairs for the 2008 Cristal were barrel-fermented and the wine was finished with a dosage of 7.5 grams per liter. It was disgorged in September of 2017. (Drink between 2030-2095)John Gilman | 99 JGThe 2008 vintage in Champagne is one of the most interesting of the last decade, and Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon has made an outstanding Cristal. It’s a blend of Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) from 36 plots in Grand Cru terroirs, with a dosage of 7.5 g/l. Fresh, delicate and lively, the bouquet is complex and shows elegant aromas of citrus, flowers, mirabelle and spices. The palate is chiseled and precise, with a powerful mid-palate and plenty of freshness supported by a chalky and saline finish.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete, most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning wine from any and all perspectives, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers and orchard fruit all build into the explosive, resonant finish. “We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told me recently. “In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aim to pick all our fruit with that criteria.”Antonio Galloni | 99 AGDisgorged in September 2017 with 7.5 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Cristal was produced from 37 of the 45 parcels that are candidates for inclusion in this cuvée—some 40% of which were farmed organically back in 2008—and it’s a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The finest young Cristal in decades, the wine wafts from the glass with a pure and vibrant bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, clear honey, warm brioche, citrus zest and white flowers. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, intense and incisive, with superb concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. Pristinely balanced, there are some 500,000 bottles of this legend-in-the-making.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThere’s a sense of focus and vibrancy to the overall structure, while the palate is all grace and charm. A fine, lacy texture carries a tapestry of ripe white cherry, toast point, blood orange zest, honey and ground ginger notes, with a minerally, mouthwatering finish. A stunning Champagne with a long future ahead of it. Drink now through 2033.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Louis Roederer Brut - Cristal Champagne/Sparkling) An ultra-elegant, pure and already highly complex nose speaks of yeast, brioche, Meyer lemon, quinine and green apple. There is equally excellent depth to the utterly delicious and highly sophisticated flavors where the supporting effervescence is very firm yet quite fine while the strikingly long if compact finish makes it crystal clear (pun intended) that this beauty is definitely built for the long haul. I was very impressed with this though with that said, I would observe that it’s presently so firm that at least another 5 years of cellaring will be necessary before this begins to unwind. In a word, excellent. (Drink starting 2028)Burghound | 95 BH

It is hard to call Petrus a “sleeper of the vintage,” but the 2008 will merit more attention than most consumers would think. Low yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare resulted in only 25,000 bottles of this beauty. A wine of great intensity (possibly the most concentrated wine of the vintage), this 100% Merlot boasts a dark purple color as well as a sweet perfume of mocha, caramel, black cherries, black currants, earth and forest floor. Deep, unctuously textured, full-bodied and pure, it will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 25-30+ years.Robert Parker | 97 RPGorgeous, smooth wine, perhaps even more intense than in past vintages. The tannins are totally enveloped by the ripe plum and damson fruits. Complex, powerful, layered and opulent, this is a wine for the long term.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2008 Pétrus has a classic Pomerol nose, perhaps darker fruit than other vintages, blackberry and briary, a touch of truffle and minerals. I love the definition here, the cool restraint. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a fine bead of acidity, chalky and tensile with moderate depth. There is a sense of composure, maybe even conservatism attached to this Pétrus that sports a mineral-driven and (at least for this Pomerol) almost austere finish compared to the 2009 or 2010. But it is a lovely wine that is only just beginning to open. Haunting. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting).Vinous Media | 96 VMTight and firm, yet with incredibly embracing tannins that are still in their early phase of evolution, even though it is 100% Merlot. It’s a trick that basically nobody else in Pomerol can pull off to quite this extent. Some liquorice kicks through, along with dark plum and blackberry fruits, touches of white pepper and coffee bean. Extremely enjoyable and still extremely young. Drinking Window 2020 - 2038.Decanter | 96 DECThere’s so much floral and berry character on the nose and palate here. It’s full-bodied and very dense with lots of fine and delicate tannins. Winemaker Oliver Berrouet calls it a classic Bordeaux in style and I have to agree with him because of the fine tannins, fresh acidity, and beautiful reserve fruit. Lovely sweet berry and chocolate finish to the wine.Try in in five to six years.James Suckling | 94 JSThis has texture and range that’s a step up from the pack, with a gorgeous, silky feel to the ripe but restrained cherry, raspberry and damson plum notes that are layered with hints of black tea, incense and mineral. The long finish is more about poise than power. Lovely. Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A style on its own, redolent of olive, cacao, sweet spice, truffle. Unique. Smooth velvety texture, showing gradually fine grain and a finish with lots of complexity: cedar wood, curry, pepper, dry berries. A jewel. Drinking Window 2019 - 2058Decanter | 97 DEC2008 was a challenging vintage in Ribera del Duero, a vintage marked by a severe frost on September 24th. The vineyards of Vega Sicilia were saved by some anti-frost burners that really made the difference. Even though, there are only some 70,000 bottles of 2008 Único, a wine that will be released around March 2016 after the 2007, and before they sell 2005 and 2006. It’s a fresher, more mineral version of Vega, and very much Vega in character. It has a certain aroma that I cannot define that I also found in the 2011 Valbuena. The palate is surprisingly polished; the wine is quite accessible from now on, with fine tannins and a subtle thread of acidity going through the core. This is a lighter version of Único, but one style I like very much; it’s a wine that should drink well throughout its life. A triumph for the vintage conditions.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPOpaque ruby. Powerful, expansive aromas of cherry liqueur, cassis, pipe tobacco, incense and pungent flowers show outstanding clarity and pick up a smoky mineral quality with air. Stains the palate with concentrated dark berry, bitter cherry and rose pastille flavors that are complicated by notes of mocha, cola and Indian spices. Distinctly generous in style but there’s outstanding energy here as well. The gently tannic, dark-fruit-dominated finish emphatically echoes the spice and floral notes and lingers with striking persistence. Production for this bottling was cut by over half in this challenging vintage and the result shows what can happen when severe selection is applied in the vineyard and cellar. Speaking of tough years, the 2002 version of this iconic wine, from a vintage that has been ignored at best and vilified at worst, is drinking beautifully right now. In fact, it appears to have just entered its drinking window: its fruit is still a bit on the youthful side while its tannins have begun to recede. Like this 2008, it’s a textbook example of what great vineyards, diligent farming and serious winemaking can accomplish under difficult circumstances.Vinous Media | 96 VMSavory flavors of tobacco, mineral, smoke and spice frame a core of cherry and pomegranate in this red. Harmonious and graceful, supported by well-integrated tannins and fresh acidity. Has deceptive depth and complexity. Drink now through 2028. 9,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Here the wood is already almost completely integrated with a cool, spicy, stony and utterly classy nose of highly complex if restrained cassis and plum aromas. The powerful, focused, intense and broad-shouldered flavors possess excellent volume and an abundance of underlying tension that adds a sense of verve and punch to the harmonious and, like the RSV, impeccably well balanced finish. This is really quite fine for a young Richebourg and this knockout effort should age for years. Brilliant.Burghound | 96 BHFull medium red. Sweet, deep aromas of raspberry, strawberry and smoky minerality. Large-scaled, seamless and wonderfully full but still very young, with dark berry and crushed stone flavors complemented by brown spices and saline soil tones. Most impressive today on the very long, firm finish, which features extremely fine tannins. (The Suchots shows a higher-pitched floral character today, but these tannins are nobler and riper.) This should reward extended bottle aging. Indeed, Charles van Canneyt believes that, despite the dominant warm-vintage character shown by so many 2009s in the early gong, "the terroirs will come back after 10 or 12 years."Vinous Media | 94+ VMThe 2009 Richebourg shows marvelous persistence, depth and power. Not surprisingly, this is a rather inward, tightly coiled wine. With time in the glass, endless nuances of sweet herbs, mint, anise and crushed flowers add complexity to the fruit. This shows terrific depth and incisiveness in a totally convincing style. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPThe ripe and pure 2009 Richebourg from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is another of the wines in the cellars here this year that has not strayed anywhere near overripeness, but its plush and voluptuous fruit tones have somehow seemed to reduce the soil signature to a rather general sense of minerality. There is an awful lot to like here, particularly fro fans of more opulent styled red Burgundies, as the wine offers up scents of plums, cherries, Vosne spices, venison, minerals and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and really voluptuous on the attack, with a fine core of fruit, ripe tannins and a very long, focused and very minerally finish. Maybe I just caught this cellar at an awkward stage and the minerality will eventually blossom into more clearly distinguishable signatures of terroir, but something tells me that those who really crave a signature of soil in their Hudelot wines are going to be much happier chasing down the beautifully transparent, but nowhere near as dramatically plush, 2008 versions. But this is a very good bottle, by any measure. (Drink between 2018 - 2050)John Gilman | 93+ JG

Like its sunshine-inspired name suggests, Solaia is an opulent and generous achievement that represents the highest pedigree in Italian wine. The intensity is mind-blowing and the wine peels back slowly to reveal thick layers of blackberry, chocolate fudge, spice and general fruit decadence. The mouthfeel is super smooth yet powerful, delivered in the most elegant fashion.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2009 Solaia is one of the clear standouts of the vintage. Freshly cut flowers, raspberries, spices, mint and licorice burst from the glass as this fabulous, viscerally thrilling wine shows off its pure class. Today the oak is a bit prominent, but that won’t be an issue by the time the wine is ready to drink. In one of my blind tastings, the 2009 Solaia was flat-out great. There is no shortage of pedigree here. The 2009 has calmed down a little from its youth, when it was a much more exuberant wine, and has now begun to close down in bottle. Solaia is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc from a single parcel within the Antinori family’s Tignanello vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029.Longtime winemaker Renzo Cotarella has done a fabulous job with the flagships Tignanello and Solaia in 2009. In my blind tastings the pedigree of those two wines in particular came through with notable eloquence. The 2010 Tignanello and Solaia are both thrilling at this stage. They could very well turn out even better than the 2009s. Readers may want to look at my short video on the 2010s from Antinori on our website.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPAnother rich, sumptuous wine, the 2009 Solaia (magnum) is stellar. Opulent and expansive on the palate, with tremendous resonance, the 2009 is radiant, yet it benefits quite a bit from the large format, which helps preserve a measure of freshness. Red cherry/raspberry jam, spice, new French oak and floral notes build into the dense, beautifully layered finish.Vinous Media | 96 VMA pretty red, boasting floral, cherry, black currant, chocolate and spice aromas and flavors. The firm structure is assertive now, both acidity and tannins, but the sweet fruit and spice flavors persist and grace the long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2015 through 2030. 7,080 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSPlums and chocolate plus hints of rose petals on the nose. Full-bodied and very ripe — almost raisiny. Spicy and intense with so much fruit and energy. Bigger style. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

A profoundly generous wine with coffee grounds and patisserie notes revealing grilled oak that’s subtle but extremely pleasing. The quality of the tannins is exceptional - they are drawn out, elongated and shrouded in smoke. Layer upon layer of complexity unfurls in the mouth, getting better and better, with tons of juicy black fruit. The liquorice is black and tight on the perfectly balanced finish right now, with sprinkles of star anise and a gentle lift of fresh mint. Give it a good few years before opening. Drinking Window 2022 - 2046Decanter | 100 DECThe 2009 Château Cheval Blanc continues to just blow me away every time I’m lucky enough to taste a bottle. It has that rare mix of elegance and power that can be hard to describe. Offering a massive bouquet of black cherry liqueur, flowery incense, crème de cassis, toasted spices, and forest floor, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a magical, seamless texture, and a great, great finish. Its tannins and structure are just now starting to emerge from under ample baby fat, but it still has incredible opulence and richness as well as flawless balance. Enjoy this masterpiece any time over the coming 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDDeep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc offers up profound notions of baked blueberries, blackberry compote and crème de cassis with suggestions of chocolate mint, new leather and cloves plus a waft of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance with very classy, super fine-grained tannins, beautiful freshness and layer upon layer of mineral-laced blue and black fruits, finishing long and perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPSuper-spicy, this is an extremely elegant 2009 with enormous concentration and finesse. The complex finish lights up the sky and you wonder how this spectacular ripeness could have been more perfectly expressed. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2009 Cheval Blanc has a rambunctious nose with copious red fruit, meat juices, sage and crushed stone aromas, ineffably complex. This is so refined, constantly mutating in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannin. There is a mixture of red and black fruit, hints of cassis, cardamom and allspice. Immense depth and grip towards the finish expresses ripe Cabernet Franc. This is an outstanding 2009 destined for long-term ageing. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMDense, brooding and richly coated, with a well of steeped black currant, fig paste and roasted plum fruit to draw on while the layers of charcoal, Kenya AA coffee and loam resolve themselves. This displays both breadth and depth, offering a great undercurrent of acidity to match its heft. Should be among the most long-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2017 through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 7,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSAn impressive wine, a true return to form for Cheval Blanc. The fruit is enormous, packed with sweet black berry juice, and with a brilliant freshness. There is a lovely smoky character, topped by ripe figs.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(Château Cheval Blanc) The 2009 Cheval Blanc really is stunning. The wine is probably the most serious contender to Lafite-Rothschild’s crown as the ultimate luxury cuvée amongst the red wines in Bordeaux this year, as it is clearly cut from the same cloth. The bouquet is deep, pure and very sophisticated, as it offers up scents of dark berries, cassis, coffee bean, sappy black cherries, menthol, tobacco leaf, smoky soil tones and a generous dollop of smoky, luxurious new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless, with beautiful focus and mid-palate depth, fine-grained tannins, superb focus and a very, very long, suave and complex finish. Like Lafite, Cheval Blanc wears its luxurious gloss very well in 2009, and it will clearly make a lot of friends amongst the jet set and should make some serious inroads into the Chinese high end luxury market, which seemed to be the obsession of every non-Lafite executive at the top estates on this trip. The wine will really need at least fifteen years to fully blossom, but is so finely crafted that it will provide plenty of pleasure early on and is likely to fall prey to infanticide in many circles. But as brilliant as the Cheval Blanc undoubtedly is this year, I would rather have the old-fashioned beauty of 2009 Bélair-Monange in my own personal cellar. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 95-96+ JG

Fine colour. Really quite closed on the nose: even more so than the Richebourg. Lovely perfumed cassis nose. A big, backward, quite tannic wine with excellent grip. More austere than the Richbourg. But it has even more depth and intensity. Very lovely.Decanter | 100 DECThe 2009 La Tâche Grand Cru is still a decade away from the plenitude of maturity, but it’s already a head-turning wine, soaring from the glass with an extravagant bouquet of rose petal, Asian spices, grilled meats, rock salt, espresso roast, rich soil tones, plums and dark chocolate. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, ample and richly structured around fine-grained chalky tannins, with a deep and multidimensional core and succulent underlying acids, concluding with a long, fragrant finish. This is an utterly classic La Tâche that ranks among the vintage’s high points.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2009 La Tâche Grand Cru is the most ethereal of the three wines in this flight. Whole cluster influence is especially marked here. A whole range of spice, dried flower, mint and savory overtones infuse the 2009 with layers of nuance. Next to the other wines in this flight, La Tâche is ethereal and harder to fully capture with words, an attribute many, if not most, of the world’s greatest wines share.Vinous Media | 98 VM(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru Red) A discreet but incredibly complex nose features notes of spicy, pure and relatively high-toned fruit that is laced with plenty of rose petal and violet hints. There is excellent energy and freshness to the lacy and stunningly precise broad-scaled flavors that build in intensity from the densely concentrated mid-palate to the explosive and mouth coating finish that seemingly goes on without end. This is a big LT with ample muscle and very firm but not aggressive structure along with superb depth of underlying material and positively mind-blowing length. But the real genius of this wine is the Zen-like harmony and poise though note that it is very tightly wound and will need many years of cellaring before it will be completely ready. In a word, magnificent. (Drink starting 2034).Burghound | 98 BHNoticeably oaky and darker than its siblings, evoking black cherry, licorice and spice. On the palate, there’s depth and concentration, with a menthol note that persists through the long finish. The mouthcoating tannins will require some time to integrate.--Non-blind 2009 DRC tasting (February 2012). Best from 2016 through 2042.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

The 2009 Conteisa sees fruit harvested from the Cerequio cru in La Morra and is one of two “Barolo-inspired” wines made by the Gaja family. A small percentage of Barbera is added to the blend. Very expressive of the cru, Conteisa opens with a beautifully floral footprint of pressed rose and blue violets followed by bright cherry, cassis, chopped mint, licorice, tar, ginger and delicately smoked cedar. Again, the complexity is mind-blowing. The wine glides effortlessly over the palate, but make no mistake, that tight, tannic austerity kicks in at the back. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPPlentiful red fruits here with hints of toffee and dried flowers on the nose. Full-bodied and tannic with chocolate and orange peel on the palate. Flavourful finish. Try after 2016.James Suckling | 95 JSElegant, vibrant and beautifully balanced, this features cherry and raspberry fruit aligned with a firm, harmonious structure. Licorice, tar and spice notes chime in, with a lingering finish of cherry, tobacco and menthol. Shows great energy and drive. Best from 2016 through 2030. 625 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSGood medium red. Explosive aromas of redcurrant, red cherry, violet and licorice. Wonderfully silky and fat on the palate, with highly concentrated, pliant red fruit flavors that don't quite show the delicate herbal and floral high notes of the 2010. But this big, broad, plush 2009 boasts an element of finesse to its tannins that's rare for the vintage.Vinous Media | 94 VM

Extravagant and exotic, but still lively, this is a super-concentrated and elegant wine that’s already breathtaking, yet has enormous aging potential. Plenty of wet earth and mushroom character alongside the cassis and blackberry aromas. Super-long, perfectly balanced finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 100 JSWhat a blockbuster effort! Atypically powerful, one day, the 2009 Haut-Brion may be considered to be the 21st century version of the 1959. It is an extraordinarily complex, concentrated effort made from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with the highest alcohol ever achieved at this estate, 14.3%. Even richer than the perfect 1989, with similar technical numbers although slightly higher extract and alcohol, it offers up a sensational perfume of subtle burning embers, unsmoked cigar tobacco, charcoal, black raspberries, wet gravel, plums, figs and blueberries. There is so much going on in the aromatics that one almost hesitates to stop smelling it. However, when it hits the palate, it is hardly a letdown. This unctuously textured, full-bodied 2009 possesses low acidity along with stunning extract and remarkable clarity for a wine with a pH close to 4.0. The good news is that there are 10,500 cases of the 2009, one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made. It requires a decade of cellaring and should last a half century or more. Readers who have loved the complexity of Haut-Brion should be prepared for a bigger, richer, more massive wine, but one that does not lose any of its prodigious aromatic attractions.Robert Parker | 100 RPInky purple in colour, this has a rich, intense nose of damson, blackberry and olive paste. The palate is generous in texture and weight, more broad-shouldered than Château Margaux - which is already beginning to show its florality. This is balanced but well built in every inch. The warmth of the vintage coming through as fruit ripeness, liquorice, spice and punch, with the beginnings of truffle notes. There’s no question of its excellence and its bonhomie. Drinking Window 2022 - 2044Decanter | 98 DECThis enormous young wine is among the most backward of the vintage at this early stage, with iron-clad grip holding the broad, deep core of blackberry, cassis and roasted fig notes in check for now. The finish is a torrent of dense, almost compressed layers of tobacco leaf, hot paving stone, singed bay leaf and tar that will take at least a decade to massage together fully. This one is for the kids born in 2009. Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2009 Haut-Brion has a less precocious but more detailed bouquet, more nuanced perhaps with warm slates baking in the summer sun, tilled loam and cedar infusing the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, perfect acidity, layers of mineral-rich black fruit. This seems to have gained more complexity in recent years and is beginning to flirt with perfection. It’s not there yet, but it is moving in that direction. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMSolid, very structured, packed with dense and dry tannins. There is a core of acidity and darkness that gives the wine a brooding, powerful character. At this stage, it seems austere although it does have the weight of fruit typical of the year.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Haut Brion) I was rather surprised by the shape and style of the 2009 Haut Brion, which seemed to have at least dipped a toe in the water of the Luxury Wine camp in this vintage. Not a direction I would take if I were the Prince of Luxembourg and in charge of the greatest terroir in all of Bordeaux, but I am not the Prince of Luxembourg. The wine is less ripe than the 2009 La Mission, as it weighs in at a slightly less heady 14.3 percent in this vintage. The bouquet is deep, pure and beautiful, as it offers up a fine mélange of dark berries, cassis, espresso, plenty of soil tones, smoke and a very generous dollop of toasty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and intensely flavored, with a rock solid core of fruit, excellent focus and a fair bit of wood tannins still in need of absorption on the long, tannic finish. Today the wine is quite marked by the Taransaud component in its oak cocktail, which I have to believe is higher than the percentage used in the second wine. There is little doubt that this wine will eventually gobble up its oak tannins and smooth out a bit on the backend, but one has to ask why there is a need for so much new wood and why so much of it has to be so damn aggressive in its wood spice? These are not the aromatics or flavors of great, traditional Haut Brion, and lest we forget, this magical terroir is really where the entire Bordeaux world as we know it today once originated. Haut Brion’s historical legacy is so deep and wide that it needs take a backseat to no one on the Gironde, so let’s dial back the new wood next year and let this hauntingly mystical terroir once again become the focal point of the grand vin. Not that the 2009 Haut Brion is not a superb wine, but it so clearly could have been even better with a bit more of a traditional focal point. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 91-93+ JG

This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 100 JS(Château Lafite Rothschild, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin. (Drink between 2032-2082)Decanter | 99 DECThe main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003’s voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.Robert Parker | 99+ RPThis is stunning for its ability to take massively endowed fig, currant paste and crushed plum fruit flavors and harness them with ultrasuave freshly roasted espresso, black tea and ganache notes. A seductive style, long and velvety, with the dense core of black fruit and smoldering iron just waiting and waiting. Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is quite high-toned and expressive on the nose, perhaps the most ostentatious of the top flight 2009s with upfront black cherry and boysenberry fruit, lavish new oak and touches of violet. The palate is sleek and satin-like in feel with copious dark cherry and boysenberry fruit, fig and dates, almost honeyed in texture towards the precocious finish that has an opulent bent, almost hedonistic, unusual for this First Growth. But it is kinda irresistible. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMA powerful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, solid in structure. The wine is rich and concentrated, very textured. Great spice go with just enough fresh acidity, in this big wine.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Lafite-Rothschild) The 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is a beautifully crafted wine that is all poise and seduction. This is the world’s ultimate luxury wine these days, and while the style has changed rather dramatically from the great Lafites of the decade of the 1980s, there is little here to complain about, as everything is done as perfectly as is humanly possible. The bouquet is deep and stunning, as it soars from the glass in a blaze of cassis, blackberries, coffee, tobacco smoke, a great base of gravelly soil tones and a generous coating of nutty, smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very suave and utterly complex, with a great core of pure fruit, moderate, refined tannins and stunning length and grip on the utterly seamless and completely seductive finish. This wine is crafted like a truly great Swiss watch, and consequently it offers up unprecedented accessibility at a very young age for those that will not be able to defer gratification, but it is so poised and beautifully balanced that it will also have no difficulty aging for many, many decades. Whether one prefers the old style of Lafite that took decades to really blossom or this new style that is the ultimate in seduction from the start is really just a matter of personal taste. There is certainly nothing in the makeup of the 2009 that is anything but exemplary in nature, and this is a beautiful wine. (Drink between 2020-2075).John Gilman | 93-95 JG

This is a crazy nose of tangerines and blueberries, with raspberries and mushroom and berries. Full-bodied, with ultra fine tannins. This wine is all about texture, with phenomenal tannins and subtle fruits that just make you think. Evocative. It is layered, yet changes all the time. I can’t believe it really. Speechless. Amazes me. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSAn absolutely prodigious blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, the 2009 Lafleur displays the tell-tale characteristics of this great estate. Kirsch liqueur, licorice and floral notes are intermixed with raspberry in a very full-bodied, super-intense, opulent and multi-dimensional style. Extraordinarily dense and pure, but not heavy by any means, the intensity, texture, and richness of the 2009 Lafleur are reminiscent of the perfect 1982. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.Robert Parker | 99 RPThe 2009 Lafleur (55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot) is an incredible wine in the vintage, not due to its concentration or richness, but due to its purity, finesse, and elegance! Revealing a deep ruby/purple color and perfumed notes of black raspberries, violets, forest floor, and spring flowers, this seamless Pomerol hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional, weightless texture, and ultra-fine tannin. With perfectly integrated oak, a perfumed, complex style, and no hard edges, it’s as sexy and seamless as it gets. If this wine doesn’t put a smile on your face, I can’t imagine what would. It’s already impossible to resist (it blossoms with time in the glass) but I suspect it will cruise in the cellar for another 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2009 Lafleur is intense on the nose with darker fruit than the 2009 Ausone: freshly tilled earth, touches of pressed rose petals and a subtle ferrous scent, involving and quite mercurial. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannin, velvety smooth and a cashmere texture. A mixture of blue and black fruit laced with spice leads to a very composed but powerful finish that lingers for 60+ seconds. This is only just beginning to show what it can do. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 97+ VMThis gushes with mouthwatering blueberry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit, leading to a long black tea– and incense-filled finish. Darkens up considerably as it airs, with layers of extra flesh, Kenya AA coffee and charcoal notes striding through the finish. Shows an exotic side, and gorgeous mouthfeel. Best from 2015 through 2030. 950 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.Robert Parker | 100 RPDark and chocolatey with a lot of richness, but also a cool herbal freshness this is a very impressive Medoc wine that’s already delicious to drink. Very long, surprisingly supple finish for this château. A perfect wine. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 100 JSAn incredible wine in every way, the 2009 Château Latour displays the ripe, sexy style of the vintage while still offering classic Latour power, density, and regalness. Currants, spicy wood, smoked tobacco, graphite, and ample minerality all define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied, with incredible density, perfectly integrated, ripe, polished tannins, and a finish that leaves no doubt about the insane quality of this wine. Based on 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot, and checking in at 13.7% alcohol, it’s drinking brilliantly today given its incredible texture and balance, and I suspect it has another 50-60 years of prime drinking. This is as good a Bordeaux as I’ve had and is as good as wine gets.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis is still closed, although a softening of the tannins is apparent. It has a gorgeous nose full of Pauillac power and finesse, with brambled fruits and touches of hedgerow as the Cabernet Sauvignon count heads upwards. The fresh core is clear from start to finish, giving that high-wire feeling that makes great Médocs so thrilling. There’s a sense of drama to the cassis fruits, controlled but with impact and a sense of purpose, leading to a chewy finish. This is barely bedded down and has the shoulders and backbone to carry it for years. Don’t approach it yet. Drinking Window 2024 - 2046.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2009 Latour is endowed with a simply magnificent nose with intense blackberry and cassis fruit laced with minerals and graphite, extremely focused to the point of overwhelming the sense. Wow. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin, multilayered black fruit infused with crushed stone and a hint of white pepper, though it clams up towards the finish as if to say, not yet. Outstanding. This is Latour firing on all cylinders. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 99 VMThis seems to come full circle, with a blazing iron note and mouthwatering acidity up front leading to intense, vibrant cassis, blackberry and cherry skin flavors that course along, followed by the same vivacious minerality that started things off. The tobacco, ganache and espresso notes seem almost superfluous right now, but they’ll join the fray in due time. The question is, can you wait long enough? Best from 2020 through 2040. 9,580 cases made.Wine Spectator | 99 WSA big, powerful wine that sums up the richness of the vintage. It is densely fruity, spicy with an enormous black plum and berry fruit character to go with the acidity. It’s concentrated while still showing such wonderfully pure fruit. The aging potential is immense.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WE(Château Latour (barrel sample)) Château Latour’s lack of graciousness this year was the talk of the journalistic circles during the week of the En Primeur tastings, as the estate was hell-bent on restraining access to tasting the 2009s here to only the best and the brightest. Naturally I was not on the short list of those allowed access (good lord, what would the world be coming to if I was on the list!), but thanks to the generous persistence of another wine writer (who shall remain nameless), I was eventually granted a brief audience with the Left Bank wine of the vintage. The 2009 Latour is a great classic and perhaps the best wine to issue forth from this great estate since the 1961. The wine offers up a fantastically complex and quite closed blend of espresso, cassis, black cherries, dark berries, tobacco leaf, a magical base of gravelly soil tones and a discreet framing of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite closed on the attack, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe tannins and an absolutely stunning finish of profound focus, length and grip. There are a boatload of tannins in the 2009 Latour and it will clearly take several decades before it even considers being enjoyable to drink, but this is a great classic in the making and an uncompromisingly brilliant and traditional vintage of Latour. A seamless powerhouse from the old school. (Drink between 2030-2100).John Gilman | 96-98+ JG

Very rich and lush, but also extremely refined, this has a lightness of touch that some top Pomerols of the vintage lack. That has a lot to do with the stunningly fine tannins that glide through the long super-fine finish. Better than ever. Drink or hold (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 100 JSExceptional purity and a blockbuster nose of mocha, black cherry liqueur, mulberries and plums are followed by an extravagantly rich wine that seems to have a nearly endless finish. Truly haute couture of Merlot, so to speak, this wine has a finish that goes well past a minute, with wonderfully sweet tannins and a provocative, concentrated, broad mouthfeel that is remarkably luxurious. This is amazing stuff! It should drink well for 20-25 years.This is undeniably the greatest Le Pin I have tasted at such an infantile age. There are about 500 cases of this wine, which is made by the Thienpont family, the owners of Vieux Chateau Certan. One hundred percent Merlot, it continues to possess the exoticism of previous vintages, but the oak at present is far better crafted and integrated than in the debut vintage of 1979.Robert Parker | 100 RPThis is still very expressive, as is the vintage in general, with a core of glistening warm raspberry puree laced with anise, black tea and mineral notes. Brighter in profile than the ’10, and just as long. Harder to resist now, too, and just missing that little extra something through the finish that sets the ’10 apart. That’s splitting hairs though.--Non-blind Le Pin vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2035. 400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2009 Le Pin has a very gorgeous, mellow bouquet with plenty of red fruit infused with leather, mocha and light Cuban cigar aromas. This is not a million miles away from Petrus. The palate is medium-bodied with velvety tannin, slightly lower acidity than its peers yet remaining balanced. Gains depth and complexity towards the finish with touches of cedar and sage. I love the way this fans out and lingers in the mouth. Not a perfect wine, but an outstanding Le Pin. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMVoluptuous and silky, this is deceptively soft and open yet with singing acidity flowing through it, giving it grip. It’s extremely ripe and generous in fruit, with notes of ground coffee and cappuccino and great persistency. It manages to combine hedonistic appeal with thought-provoking moments, demanding that you slow down rather than gulping the whole glass. It manages to seduce without overpowering, but is certainly signature Le Pin. Drinking Window 2019 - 2046Decanter | 97 DEC(Château Le Pin) This will be the last vintage of Le Pin made in the quaint old chais in the middle of the vineyards, as plans are in place to modernize the facilities in the very near future. The 2009 Le Pin is a very good example of the vintage, as it offers up scents of ripe black cherries, black raspberries, chocolate, woodsmoke and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, fairly complex and impressively tangy, with a great core of fruit, plenty of ripe tannins and fine length and grip on the long and palate-staining finish. Le Pin has always had one hundred percent of its malo done in barrel, and it seems to me that one of the differentiating characteristics between this wine and the very greatest Pomerols such as Trotanoy or Vieux Château Certan is the less impressive signature of soil that seems to emanate from wines such as Le Pin in which all of their malos are done in barrique. This is certainly a superb wine, but it does not come close to moving me the way some of the other top estates in Pomerol have done with their monumental 2009s. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 92-93 JG

If you want to drink a Margaux 2009 any time soon, you need to go for the Pavillon - the grand vin is still extremely young, holding back its power and impact for another five or 10 years time. It’s still closed up enough to hint rather than reveal. The smooth, silky tannins are joined by blackberry and cassis fruit with a great sense of vibrancy and concentration, and some tingling minerality with a pulse of electricity. There’s a latent generosity here, a slow confidence that builds through the palate as the flavours layer up, yet it’s clear that there’s still lots to be revealed, particularly the hints of violet and peony florality that just peek through on the finish. This is very, very good - up with the best ever from this estate. 31% of production went into this wine, and it has the same amount of Cabernet Sauvignon as in 2005. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Drinking Window 2022 - 2046Decanter | 100 DECThis marathon runner is currently in the no-man’s land between youthful vitality and mellow maturity. There’s a very serious tannin structure here, but it needs a lot longer to fully resolve. Very tight and closed. A perfect wine usually. But not today. Try in 2020. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 99 JSA brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.Robert Parker | 99 RPA massive wine for Margaux, packed with tannins and ripe fruit. It has more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, giving intense black currant flavors with enticing acidity balanced by the sweetness of the fruit. Ripe swathes of this opulent fruit are also elegant and structured.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2009 Château Margaux is intense and powerful on the nose with blackberry, forest floor, graphite and rose petals that unfurls with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, impressive density and plenty of freshness, perhaps more than the 2009 Mouton-Rothschild. There is a genuine Pauillac-like drive to this Château Margaux thanks to the Cabernet Sauvignon, clearly a First Growth destined for long-term ageing. 13.1% alcohol. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis offers gorgeously caressing fruit, with steeped plum, blackberry and red currant notes, finely embroidered with accents of rooibos and black tea, tobacco leaf, alder and sandalwood. Delivers loads of fruit, with the structure already melded into the core of fruit--but that’s the vintage style. A stunner, though I still find the ’10 a full step ahead.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Best from 2018 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Château Margaux) The 2009 Margaux is again, very, very ripe, but never strays over the line. The bouquet is deep and flamboyant, as it offers up scents of black cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, cigar smoke, fine soil tones and plenty of spicy new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and black fruity, with a firm core of ripe fruit, low acids, fine focus and impressive length and grip on the beautifully balanced and ripely tannic finish. This is a very well-made, low acid and big-boned Margaux that will need a good decade in the cellar to start to blossom and should provide a solid forty year window of peak drinkability. A fine result. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 93-94 JG

The 2010 Romanée-St.-Vivant from Hudelot-Noëllat is properly more reserved than the Malconsorts, but in terms of complexity and purity, these two wines are cut very much from the same cloth in this vintage. The stunning nose soars from the glass in a beautiful blend of sappy red and black cherries, raspberries, a touch of blood orange, a great base of soil tones, a bit of duck and a judicious framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure on the attack, with a sappy core, ripe tannins and a very, very long, reserved and transparent finish. This is pure magic. (Drink between 2022 - 2075)John Gilman | 96+ JGGood full red. Ineffable aromas and flavors of red berries, cocoa powder, smoked meat, faded rose and wild herbs, plus a whiff of game. Still a bit youthfully tough on the palate, but already communicates great grip and energy; comes across as deeper and more masculine than the 2011 version. Finishes surprisingly lush, with perfectly integrated tannins and outstanding subtle length.Vinous Media | 95+ VMThe 2010 Romanee St. Vivant comes across as rather shy. It shows lovely definition in its striking, well-delineated bouquet. There is an element of pure sensuality to the fruit that is very attractive. The RSV needs time to come out of its shell but is quite promising, even at this early stage. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPThe 2010 Romanée Saint-Vivant Grand Cru showed more evolved than I’d expect from a 2010, yet it was nevertheless beautiful, with a complex, layered, nuanced bouquet, medium-bodied richness, integrated tannins, and just a perfumed, forward, evolved style that was drinking incredibly well. Blind, I’d easily have guessed it was 10-15 years older. It’s a beautiful wine, although I’m not sure if this bottle is representative, so I’d recommend trying a bottle if you have a few cellared. Based off this showing, it should have no issues evolving for another decade, but I wouldn’t go much further.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis was also relatively reduced and impossible to evaluate. The utterly seductive medium weight flavors possess a silky mouth feel and superb balance which in much the same fashion as the Beaux Monts is enhanced by the very fine grained tannins before culminating in an explosive, focused and strikingly long finish. This highly-sophisticated effort seems quite supple as the firm tannins are hidden by the abundant sap but make no mistake, this will require plenty of cellar time before it’s completely ready. Despite all of the considerable potential this is displaying this level of reduction is cause for concern and while it may pass, that is an assumption.Burghound | 94 BH

The 2010 Solaia rounds out this flight in style. Swaths of tannin give the 2010 a real sense of explosive energy and vibrancy that only builds with time in the glass. A whole range of dark aromas and flavors give the 2010 its brooding, inward personality. Tasted from magnum, the 2010 is very young, but its pedigree is unmistakable.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGA triumph for Solaia: it suggests the greatness of the legendary 1997. This is a wine with very subtle, complex aromas and flavours of currants, licorice and raspberries. Wonderful nose. Full body with ultra-fine tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes on the palate. The precision of the cabrenet sauvignon comes through here. Better in 2016.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2010 Solaia puts on an incredible show that hits all the senses and keeps your unyielding attention for as long as there is wine in the bottle. There are various ways to describe the bouquet. First, is the wine’s sweet side, as this beautiful 75-20-5 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc delivers ripe cherry, black currant, baking spice and dark chocolate. After that, the wine becomes redolent of tobacco, balsam, bay leaf, rum cake and dark licorice. The bouquet is all encompassing and complete. A firmly structured backbone is padded generously by the fleshy richness of its consistency. This is a gorgeous wine that will age for decades. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPAlready one of Italy's most iconic bottlings, this gorgeous 2010 is already a classic. Its complex and intense bouquet unfolds with ripe blackberries, violets, leather, thyme and balsamic herbs. The palate shows structure, poise and complexity, delivering rich black currants, black cherry, licorice, mint and menthol notes alongside assertive but polished tannins and vibrant energy. This wine will age and develop for decades. Drink 2018–2040.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEWith intense black olive and tapenade aromas, this wine remains almost entirely knitted down and is still a long way from lift-off. But everything is in place for it to be exceptional. The tannins are beautifully ripe, building up through the palate to give shoulders and heft to the spiced blackberry, pepper and fig notes. You can feel the warmth of the Tuscan sun through the exoticism of the spice structure, with fresh Cabernet elegance pulling everything upwards on the finish. A great wine from a growing season that was long and relatively cool until harvest, when hot sunny days lasted through October. (Drink between 2019-2038)Decanter | 94 DECA dense, powerful red, with a good lashing of oak, this evokes black currant, blackberry and spice flavors. Finds equilibrium with air, gaining suppleness and finishing long and complex. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2016 through 2028. 7,000 cases made, 500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS