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Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon marmalade and fallen leaves with suggestions of spice cake and preserved mandarin peel. The palate is super intense with vibrant, energetic fruit and layer upon layer of perfume and spice nuances, finishing very long and incredibly youthful.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPRich and opulent, but the Barsac terroir keeps it reined in. Exotic fruit notes, baked apple and confit fruit. Pure, velvety and unctuous but with a bite of citrus zest freshness coming in behind. Biodynamic estate. Drinking Window 2019 - 2050Decanter | 97 DECThe 2009 Climens has a clean and pure bouquet with honey and brioche aromas, like pure sunlight! The palate is fresh and crisp with superb botrytised fruit. Great tension and a dash of ginger and lemongrass spice up the detailed finish. This is a Climens that is only just beginning to demonstrate what is capable of. Bon vin! Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe superb palate boasts richness, with honey and orange zest notes. It shows fine balance between the flavors of orange jelly and the intense botrytis-driven notes. It has a light, delicate texture and acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WERounded and broad in feel for now, with richly layered toasted almond, ginger cream, brioche and glazed apple notes that all glide through the viscous finish, where a flash of green tea can be found. This has the buried zip for the long haul, which it will need to assimilate fully. There’s lots in reserve. Best from 2015 through 2034. 4,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2009 Cuvee Madame, composed of 100% Sémillon, is pale lemon-gold in color with a beguiling fragrance of peach blossoms, mandarin peel, jasmine and allspice with core of pineapple, lemon pie, peach preserves and ginger plus a waft of musk perfume. Very big, powerful and seductive with decadent richness and loads of spice and floral layers accenting the ripe stone fruit flavors, it finishes with epic persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2009 Coutet Cuvée Madame is the fifteenth release due in January 2019. It is a slightly larger production than the usual 1,200 bottles: 1,900 bottles produced of which 1,600 are planned for release. It has a very complex bouquet with dried honey, barley sugar, orange zest, frangipane and hints of ginger. This just takes a little while to coalesce. The palate is a party in the mouth with an effervescent entry, Clementine, honey, a touch of Chinese 5-spice and ginger, certainly one of the spicier Cuvée Madames that I have tasted with pain d’épices on the finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 96 VM

The 2009 Champagne Blanc De Blancs Louis Salmon Brut comes from Mesnil, Cramant and Chouilly and was all fermented in stainless steel tank. Since 2009 was a warmer vintage, they did not use wood, as they were looking to preserve the freshness of the wine. A seductive wine that’s almost identical in appearance to the 2017 Blanc de Blancs, this 2009 jumps from the glass with a buoyant personality in its perfume of lemon custard, honeysuckle, fresh brioche, a hint of almond, and juicy pear. Full-bodied, its wonderfully rich texture coats the palate with citrus oils, and it has a finish that won’t quit. It balances its warmth and solar feel with a lovely embrace and retains a powerful yet balanced finish. Drink 2024-2040. 3.8 grams per liter dosage.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2009 Brut Blancs de Blancs Louis Salmon is a rich, heady wine. In 2009, Billecart-Salmon opted not to use lots aged in oak, which, along with partially blocked malolactic fermentation, helps explain the wine’s freshness and verve. Lemon peel, white flowers, white pepper and chalk are all beautifully delineated. There’s gorgeous density and power here, along with a good bit of vintage 2009 radiance. What a gorgeous Champagne this is. The Louis Salmon is a blend from Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Cramant. Dosage is 3.75 grams per liter. Disgorged: second trimester 2022.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis is showing an array of almonds, frangipani, dried lemons, apricots, pastries and white chocolate, evolving to salted caramel. Fantastic complexity and all in balance, with firm focus yet open and delicious. Creamy, very fine bubbles. Salty, turning chalky and mineral at the end. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSDisgorged during the second quarter of 2022 with a dosage of 3.75 grams per liter, the 2009 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Louis Salmon reveals aromas of pear, lemon oil, mandarin oil, white pepper, pastry and almonds. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and long, it has a crystalline yet vinous texture with a fresh, salty finish. It is a quintessential representation of Billecart’s style, characterized by racy acids and a lively palate. It derives from Chardonnay grapes sourced from the villages of Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly and Cramant and was aged exclusively in steel tanks.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPChardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs presents its mineral texture and impressively fresh white fruits. Its taut character gives the Champagne a nervy character that helps keep its surprising youthfulness. Drink now.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEFreshness and finesse define the Louis Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs 2009 Grand Cru from the Côte des Blancs, a cuvée that pays homage to the first Chef de Cave at Billecart-Salmon. Cold fermented in stainless steel and aged on fine lees until the third quarter of 2022, it was finished Extra Brut with a 3.75 grams per liter dosage. Expressive and alluring aromas of citrus confit, pear tart, freshly baked brioche, clover honey and a whiff of verbena blossoms open onto a light to medium-bodied, creamy palate brimming with ripe citrus and stone fruits that are amplified by exhilarating acid tension, perceptible salinity and a lengthy finish with a chalky grip. Lot: L84146The Wine Independent | 95+ TWIA vivid Champagne, with a fine mouse acting as a creamy swath around well-honed acidity, which defines this wine and carries flavors of poached apricot and ripe green apple, toast point and roasted nuts, preserved lemon and saffron. Salt-tinged finish. Disgorged summer 2022. Drink now through 2029.Wine Spectator | 93 WSNo written review provided. | 93 W&S

The 2009 Raymond-Lafon has a slightly smudged bouquet although it gains clarity with time, offering pineapple and peach skin, lanolin and honeysuckle aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fresh entry, slightly edge thanks to the acidity with good concentration and persistence towards the tropical-tinged finish. Good potential. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMPale gold colored, the 2009 Raymond-Lafon gives compelling marmalade, honey nut, pineapple upside down cake and burnt sugar notes with wafts of petrol and paraffin wax. Opulent with savory undertones, the palate delivers loads of citrus fruit sparks among the richness, with a racy backbone and long, fruity finish. While showing some evolution, this still has plenty of cellaring potential.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPRich and intense, with dried pineapple, candied lemon peel and heather honey notes, followed by spice, crème brûlée and lemon meringue. The long, pure finish has great power and precision. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Best from 2013 through 2030. 3,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2009 Guiraud is one of the gems of Sauternes this vintage, one of the finest offerings in recent years. It has a wonderful, beautifully delineated bouquet with expressive scents of wild honey, orange pith, Seville orange marmalade and just a hint of pineapple. The palate is beautifully defined with pure botrytised fruit, supremely well balanced with a vivacious, ginger and white pepper tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. Outstanding...Vinous Media | 97 VMGorgeous aromas of dried apricots, apple pie crust and pineapple. Full-bodied, with medium sweetness. Dense and layered. Beautiful now but will improve with age. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis is a bird of a different feather, with an exotic, vibrant aroma of toasted coconut, followed by an almond cream note that gives way to the core of green fig, papaya, Cavaillon melon and honey. There’s stunning richness and mouthfeel, with the power to be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Very impressive. Best from 2015 through 2040. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 11,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSPale to medium gold colored, the 2009 Guiraud comes sashaying out of the glass with a wonderfully floral nose of jasmine and peach blossoms with an undercurrent of potpourri, dried mango, honey nut, baked pineapple and preserved ginger. The mouth is completely coated with concentrated baking spice and savory layers countering all the rich sweetness, finishing long and layered.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is a smoky, rich wine that shows evident wood aging. This feature adds weight, though the sweetness is currently muted. It is a wine with potential intensity; the fruit and acidity will emerge in several years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE(Château Guiraud (Sauternes)) The 2009 Guiraud is a terrific wine in the making, as it has perfectly captured the potential to make an elegant, refined and long-lived wine in this vintage. The bouquet is deep, complex and quite esthery in its mélange of bee pollen, pears, apples, delicate notes of pineapple, complex soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and shows great mid-palate depth, with bright acids, lovely, nascent complexity and outstanding length and grip on the elegant and focused finish. A superb Guiraud. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 92-93 JG

Pale gold in color, the 2009 Suduiraut slowly, seductively unfurls to reveal provocative notions of dried pineapple, quince paste, chamomile tea and almond croissant with touches of honeycomb and allspice. Rich, bold and satiny textured in the mouth, the palate explodes with exotic spices, framed by seamless freshness and finishes with epic length and depth. In a word—yum!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP(Suduiraut Suduiraut Sweet White) The 2009 Suduiraut, aged in 55% new oak, is surprisingly closed at first but it soon awakens with aeration and begins revving its motor. It has a divine bouquet with honey, chamomile, yellow flowers and nectarine, building layer upon layer. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous opening, a beautiful razor-sharp line of acidity that effortlessly slices through all that pure botrytised fruit. Notes of quince and clementine emerge as it fans out wonderfully on the finish. It remains the benchmark Suduiraut of recent years. Period. 153gm/L residual sugar, 14.0% alcohol, 3.6gm/L total acidity. Tasted at the Suduiraut vertical at the château. (Drink between 2020-2070)Vinous Media | 98 VM(Cha^teau Suduiraut, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, White) Luscious, enticing with a silky smooth texture, full of saffron, quince, apricot, white truffle, citrus and pineapple. Endlessly complex, sweet but not cloying, this is a brilliant example of Satuernes’ ability to seduce, from an estate that comprises sand, clay and gravel, aged in 70% new oak. Residual sugar of 150g/l. (Drink between 2020-2042)Decanter | 97 DEYummy young Sauternes with caramel, honey, dried apples, pears, and tarte tatin. Full body, layered and compacted. Medium sweet and a flavorful finish. So much to come still. Give it three or four years to understand all it has.James Suckling | 96 JSThe new-wood smokiness is an important element of this creamy-textured wine. The richness bares flavors of honey, botrytis, almond and orange peel. Ripe and age worthy, this wine’s opulence is just beginning to show.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis is loaded, with gorgeous papaya, mango, yellow apple and creamed peach flavors carried by salted caramel, toasted coconut and ginger cream notes. Very long on the finish, this just sails on and on. Showing terrific range and depth, this has a long life ahead of it. Best from 2014 through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 4,000 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 96 WS(Château Suduiraut (Sauternes)) Our sample of ’09 Château Suduiraut was quite marked by its new wood still, which may simply mean that the first racking had not yet been completed at the estate prior to assembling the sample. The wine is going to be terrific in any case, as it offers up a complex and very classy nose of oranges, pears, pineapple, honeycomb, soil and the aforementioned vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very elegant, with fine focus, bright acids really lovely complexity and grip on the long, dancing finish. A superb wine. (Drink between 2016-2050)John Gilman | 92-93+ JG

This is full and rounded initially, then the more textured notes of green fruit skin and wood spice come through. It has an attractively ripe feel while remaining structured. At the same time, the wine is developing fast and will be ready to drink in 3–4 years. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEThis starts off very fresh and lemony and then turns minerally and stoney. Full and fruity, with mangos and pineapples. Opens and turns wonderful. So much going on here in the end. Don’t be fooled. Real white Bordeaux style with Sauvignon and Semillon character.James Suckling | 91 JSBecause of both time and space constraints, I am not able to provide tasting notes for the 2009 dry white Bordeaux, but it is an extremely strong vintage. Most châteaux equaled the dazzling quality of the 2007 dry whites. That said, the 2009s tend to be less classic than 2007, but more exotic, honeyed, and higher in alcohol, with compelling richness. The 2009s will probably have a shorter evolutionary curve, but these wines tend to last a long time, even in a vintage such as this. They are fascinating dry white wines.Robert Parker | 90-92 RP