Wine Producers

wines

There are 550-cases of the perfect 2007 Cariad (original rating was 99), a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and the rest equal parts Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. One of northern California’s watershed vintages for Bordeaux varietals, according to Allison Tauziet, this wine revealed great potential from the day the first grapes were crushed. It possesses a dense purple color, massive fruit, soft but high tannin, and a structural profile somewhat similar to the 2002. There appears to be more underlying minerality in the 2007, but the sweetness of the tannin, the enormous concentration of fruit (blackberry, blueberry, cherry) intermixed with graphite, chocolate, coffee and crushed rock characteristics is striking. This is a compelling, even prodigious wine that hits all the palate’s sweet spots, possesses phenomenal upside potential, and is a modern day legend in the making. Approachable now because of its flawlessness and seamless characteristics, it should drink well for three decades or more.Robert Parker | 100 RPI am not sure what to say. This is like standing in a perfectly tended vineyard with stoney soil on a beautiful sunny day. Gorgeous nose of cardamon and cloves. Full bodied, with a breathtaking depth of fruit. The texture is perfect. The tannins are perfect. This is mind blowing wine that has left me speechless. Please don’t touch this until 2015. I am in love with this. Find the wine.James Suckling | 100 JSDense, chewy and extracted, rich and layered, with tightly wound blackberry, melted black licorice, new leather, shoe polish and herbal notes that are expansive and gain traction on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2012 through 2020. 550 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSBright, dark red with ruby highlights. Spectacularly complex aromas of roasted plum, cassis, currant, graphite, anise, licorice and tobacco. Wonderfully sweet, youthful and lively, with perfectly integrated acidity giving the wine an enticing combination of cool and warm qualities. Finishes very young and very long, still in need of more time in bottle to unwind. This perfumed blend reminded me of a Bordeaux from the RIght Bank owing to its seductive plum, dark berry and licorice notes and sexy sweetness. But its dusty tannins are still quite firm and in need of patience.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

Medium garnet in color with a hint of purple, the 2007 Maya Proprietary Red Wine possesses the most alluring nose of blueberry compote, Black Forest cake, crème de cassis, licorice and espresso with suggestions of truffles, beef drippings, dried sage and forest floor. Powerful, rich and substantial on the palate, it explodes with profound black fruits and earthy layers with a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2007 Maya is deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of blackberry pie, creme de cassis, and black cherry preserves pop from the glass, followed by hints of cinnamon toast, red roses, and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate is packed with bold black fruit layers, supported by plush, beautifully ripe tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and opulent. Andy Erickson started here in January 2007 and it was also the first year of organic farming.The Wine Independent | 97 TWIWhat a difference a year makes. The 2007 Maya is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Sexy and racy to the core, the 2007 captures the sensuality of the year in spades. Raspberry jam, white flowers, mint and spices are nicely shaped by silky tannins. Production was tiny, at around 270 cases, partly because 2007 is the vintage in which Dalla Valle introduced their second wine, Collina Dalla Valle. It’s great to see Maya back on track after the less than stellar 2006.Vinous Media | 96 VMShows a juicy side to the loamy earth, tobacco, cedar and tar flavors. Complex and layered, if starting to show signs of age and a drying edge. The initial burst of fruit is captivating. -- Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now. 300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Deep garnet colored, the 2007 Ancient Way Vineyard Summer’s Vineyard sings of preserved plums, Christmas pudding, figs and incense with suggestions of spice cake, licorice and Morello cherries plus a waft of tobacco. Rich, spicy and full-bodied in the mouth, it offers an alluring texture of soft, rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and with loads of savory nuances coming through.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPInky purple. Superripe aromas of cassis, cherry preserves and dark chocolate, with complicating notes of licorice and mint. Densely packed and chewy, offering palate-coating black and blue fruit flavors that show serious depth and building sweetness. A hint of smoked meat comes up on the long, clinging finish, which is framed by broad, pliant tannins. I’m not exactly sure what I’d serve with this but it would definitely have to be part of a dead mammal and it would be roasted, braised or grilled.Vinous Media | 93 VMMeaty flavors step forward in this rich, decadent Shiraz, piling savory soy sauce and wet earth nuances around the core of dark, dense blackberry. Shows depth and power. Drink now through 2017. 500 cases made, 500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time has a medium garnet color and sings of Indian spices, baked plums and crème de cassis with forest floor, black truffles and iron ore accents plus a waft of potpourri. The full-bodied palate delivers a firm yet plushly textured foundation to support the generous black and blue fruit preserves flavors with bags of earthy nuances and a very long finish. The sensuous mouthfeel on this wine, in particular, is to be commended!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time is gorgeous. The personality of the vintage is very well suited to the extended time in barrel (40-50 months) Woodbridge gives this wine. All the elements are in the right place. Rich, dark and sumptuous, the 2007 is totally seamless on the palate, yet at the same time, there is more than enough support from the tannins. This is yet another compelling, totally beguiling wine from Jayson Woodbridge.Vinous Media | 96 VM

The 2008 La Mission Haut-Brion has an open, feisty, lively bouquet with blackberry, briary, cedar, black olive and a light seaweed (Japanese nori) aroma. This is wonderful, an intoxicating bouquet. The palate is beautifully balanced with a fine bead of acidity, very focused with good weight and structure. This is a very convincing showing, at the moment more pleasurable than the 2008 Haut-Brion, just so fresh and complex, offering a discrete tertiary, smoke-tinged finish that goes on and on. One of the best 2008s out there. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting).Vinous Media | 96+ VMA muscular wine, with well-defined tannins. The acidity is high, hiding the power and richness of the fruit behind. Then dark tannins come through, with other ripe fruits, finishing with a mineral character.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WELike a lot of wines in this underrated vintage, the 2008 La Mission was one of the great bargains of recent vintages. Its healthy blue/purple color is followed by aromas of blueberries, black raspberries, licorice, truffles, underbrush and forest floor. The scorched earthy/smoky character of this estate’s terroir has not yet emerged. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated with good acidity, freshness and delineation, this is a big wine for the vintage, but also very classic in its balance of tannin, acidity and extract. It will benefit from another 5-7 years of cellaring and should keep for three decades. The final blend was 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker | 95 RPA beautiful, high-class effort that offers incredible pleasure, the 2008 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Ripe black cherries, sweet currants, cigar tobacco, and exotic spices all emerge from this medium to full-bodied effort that has beautiful concentration, sweet tannins, and again, a pleasure-bent, even sexy character that’s a joy to drink. It’s capable of lasting another 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDElegant and fresh, with beautiful crushed raspberry fruits - proof that 2008 is a vintage where terroir wins out. This all happens on the retro-olfaction: there you are thinking it’s a little under-perfumed for a Mission, but then it kicks back with a smoky swirl through the palate and the aromatics take hold. It’s very good, showing savoury black fruits on the finish and the gentlest hint of cigar box and cedar oak. Drinking Window 2020 - 2036Decanter | 94 DECFascinating aromas of crushed berry, plums, sweet tobacco and stones. Full bodied, with chewy and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is very structured and rich with a bright and tangy acidity. Needs time to come together, obviously. Try after 2015.James Suckling | 93 JSTangy and lightly firm, with cherry pit, pomegranate and blackberry notes, followed by sage and tobacco. There’s nice focus, with a tarry hint for added length on the finish. Rather tight now, with the edgy feel holding sway, but this should settle into itself nicely enough. Best from 2013 through 2018. 5,300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Made in a more masculine style, the 2008 Dominus has all of that along with bigger body and more structure, fat, density and texture. Both are brilliant wines and they represent the finest back-to-back vintages for Dominus since 2001 and 2002 or 1990 and 1991. Both the 2007 and 2008 Dominus should drink well for 25-30 years.This estate, owned by Christian Moueix, includes the famed Napanook Vineyard that was the base of so many of the historic Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignons of the 1950s and 1960s. Interestingly, they have completely eliminated Merlot from the bottling. The 2007 Dominus is a 5,400-case blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. There are 4,200 cases of the 2008 Dominus which is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Lower yields resulted in a denser, more concentrated wine. The remarkable thing about these cuvees is that they smell like a hypothetical blend of a top Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and a serious Bordeaux, possibly a cross blend of a Pomerol and Pauillac. Both wines possess silky sweet tannins, which is the big difference between Dominus post-1990 and the first seven vintages, where the tannin content was relatively high. About 40% new oak is used in their upbringing.P.S. In a couple of years, readers should be on the look-out for a new estate wine from Christian Moueix. One mile north of the Napanook Vineyard, Moueix has purchased a 36-acre, already planted parcel known as the Schmidt Ranch. I tasted some of the 2009 barrel samples and this appears to be another promising venture with a completely different personality a more obviously Napa Valley/Cabernet Sauvignon, ripe style of wine than the more elegant, complex Dominus. I’m not sure what the name will be, but it will definitely not be called the Schmidt Ranch.Robert Parker | 99 RPNow 30 years old, this venture is a Californian classic. But the real success is how Christian Moueix, proprietor of Pétrus, so fine-tuned his approach with Cabernet while turning his back on Merlot. The 2008 is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. While oak may be Napa’s mainstay, Dominus sees just 40% new barrels, leaving its fate more to a relentless focus on sorting and the Napanook vineyard’s sublime soils. A sweet floral edge enlivens creamy blackberry, sandalwood and gravelly mineral, with wellrobed tannins that only appear at the finish. For all the flesh, this has long-lived savoury nuance. Drinking Window 2013 - 2028Decanter | 97 DECThis is very pure fruit for Dominus. This will be interesting to see how it develops in the future. 2008 was a very small crop. Very perfumed and beautiful, with currants, flowers, and notes of mint. Full-bodied, with round velvety tannins that lead up to a chocolate and ripe berry finish. This is showing great fruit, and a great finish. Structurally this is like a 2005 La Mission. Best after 2014.James Suckling | 95 JSVery Bordeaux-like in its makeup and structure, this firm wine offers good acidity and tight tannins, delivering complex flavors of loamy earth, vivid dried currant and berry, with anise and mineral notes sprinkled in. My favorite young Dominus of late. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(a blend of 83% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot): Good full red-ruby. Fresher on the nose than the Napanook, showing raspberry, plum, mocha and tobacco aromas. Round and plummy in the mouth, with a restrained sweetness to the flavors of milk chocolate, mocha and licorice. A wine of moderate ripeness for the vintage, and in a shell today. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and notes of plum, mocha and chocolate. I don’t find quite the structure or grip of the best years.Vinous Media | 93 VMA short crop of concentrated berries produced this grand vintage of Dominus, one that will need long aging to show its best. Decant it if you open the bottle now, allowing the initial cabernet franc scent of green herbs to integrate—Josiah Baldivino of Michael Mina in San Francisco described it as “adding a fine detail, like a pocket square in a suit.” Air brings out the full stature of the wine, its black cherry richness, violet scents and silken texture. For provençal lamb.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SAnother fine Dominus, dry, well-structured and ageworthy. Lacks the flashiness of the dramatic 2007, but is still ripe and rich enough to drink now, and should develop over the next six years. Rewards for the depth of blackberries, cassis, blueberries and cedar, wrapped into plush tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

The 2008 Léoville Las Cases has a backward, broody, earthy bouquet with intense tobacco and graphite aromas, more like a Pauillac than a Saint Julien, no surprise given that it lies on the border. The palate is very impressive: layers of tobacco-tinged black fruit, sea salt and graphite. This is very precise and harmonious with a persistent and multi-layered finish that leaves you mightily impressed. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)Vinous Media | 96 VM(Château Leoville Las Cases) The 2008 Leoville Las Cases is the finest wine that I have yet tasted from this great vintage and is destined to one day be ranked up at the very pinnacle of Michel Delon’s accomplishments during his tenure at the superb estate. I have recently tasted the 1982, 1986 and 1989 Leoville Las Cases, and there is little doubt in my mind that the 2008 will eventually eclipse those top flight vintages here, so this is a wine that fans of this estate should make every effort to secure before it disappears from the market. Wines like the 1982 and 1986 here share a sense of density that seems to come across as a slight flaw in hindsight, once one compares them to the seamless structure and effortless power of this young 2008 Las Cases. The bouquet is absolutely profound, as it soars from the glass in a classic blend of black cherries, cassis, tobacco leaf, a magically complex base of soil, French roast, a touch of violet and an utterly suave base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and stunningly transparent down to the soil, with a sappy core of fruit, flawless focus and balance, ripe, firm tannins, really lovely acidity and stunning grip on the very long, reserved and monumental finish. This is 13.4 percent alcohol- all natural- and it shows off the finest sense of focus, balance and signature of soil in a young vintage of Leoville Las Cases that I can ever recall. In fact, I have never tasted a vintage of Las Cases- young or old- that so beautifully embraced its terroir and translated it into the finished wine as the 2008. Stunning juice. (Drink between 2022-2100)John Gilman | 96+ JGAnother underrated vintage for this estate, the 2008 Léoville Las Cases is a vibrant, youthfully primary wine that’s aging at a slower pace than the 2009. Unfurling to reveal aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with subtle hints of pencil shavings and nicely integrated new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, taut and layered, with tangy acids, ripe tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Displaying compelling purity and energy, it’s a serious Las Cases that will richly reward the patient but which is still some way away from its drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPOne of the most classic, regal wines in the vintage, the 2008 Léoville Las Cases is made from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot. Possessing an incredible Cabernet character in its graphite, crushed rocks, green tobacco, and crème de cassis-like fruit, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, has integrated acidity, a deep, layered texture, and a distinct minerality and salinity on the finish. It’s just now at the early stages of its drink window, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage. It should hit prime time in another 4-5 years and keep for 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDSuper racy and balanced. Masses of licorice and currants, intense aromas. Full and very silky with an intensity of fruit. Reminds me of the 1996. Best after 2015.James Suckling | 95 JSWith its superb tannins, the wine has a great solid core of structure. Over it is an edifice of direct black berry fruits, elegant texture and intense acidity. Impressive, a wine for aging.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis is loaded for the vintage, with layer upon layer of crushed blackberry, fig paste and mulled black currant offset by smoldering tobacco, charcoal and anise notes. The finish is all iron and roasted earth for now, with the density to be among the longest-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2013 through 2023. 14,583 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSFirm, rich tannins quietly declare their confidence - this is not yet at its real drinking window as the structure will require another five years to soften. The emphasis is clearly on the primary Cabernet, with an attack that focusses on cassis and the finish on menthol. This is Médoc personified, showing graphite notes, forest floor and tobacco, barely revving out of the gate. Drinking Window 2022 - 2038Decanter | 94 DEC

Impressively balanced, with the fruit rich, intense with a golden glow. The acidity is as important as the freshness, giving a delicious lift to the core of dry, concentrated botrytis. Obviously a great wine for long-term aging in a great Sauternes year. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA blend of 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, with 139 grams per liter of residual sugar and a pH of 3.7, the 2008 Yquem is pale to medium gold in color. It leaps from the glass with vivacious notes of lemon marmalade, quince paste, and kiwi fruit, leading to suggestions of lemongrass, wet slate, almond croissant, and fallen leaves. The palate is completely coated with citrus and tropical fruit layers, supported by fantastic tension and a satiny texture, finishing long and electric.The Wine Independent | 97 TWIBright light gold. Ripe cling peach, fresh apricot, spices, coconut, minerals and white flowers on the nose, with a note of vanillin oak emerging with air; subdued but wonderfully pure and precise. At once thick and light on its feet, showing an utterly seamless texture and compelling sweetness but also lovely inner-mouth tension thanks to its suave acidity and underlying minerality. The new oak element is in harmony with the wine’s fruit already. Really dusts the palate on the back end and builds inexorably. The explosive finish leaves behind a perfumed spice character. The clear star in my 2008 tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2008 d’Yquem reveals a complex, elegant bouquet with aromas of pineapple, exotic fruits, quince and orchard fruits, followed by both a balanced and medium to full-bodied palate, seamless and layered texture and a penetrating, fresh and delicate finish. With 139 grams of residual sugar, this is a classic d’Yquem that has real potential to improve in the cellar over the next 10 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPBeautiful lemon cream, chamomile and fried pineapple notes, with a refreshing, almost floral edge running along as well. Creamy coconut and green plum notes fill in on the finish, which has admirable length. A restrained, lighter style, with lovely precision. Drink now through 2035. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Very elegant, the 2009 represents the soul of Tignanello, revealing red fruit and savory notes. Remains focused, harmonious and long.—Non-blind Tignanello vertical (October 2019). Drink now through 2030. 10,000 cases imported. — BSWine Spectator | 93 WSDried fruits and flowers on the nose. More roses than anything else. Full body, with light toffee, coffee and ginseng character. Light prunes too. Really enjoyable. A blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Give it a year or two to soften.James Suckling | 93 JS(80% sangiovese, 15% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc): Bright red-ruby. Ripe aromas of sweet red cherries macerated in alcohol, cedar, cinnamon and pepper. Suave and seamless, with soft, almost-overripe flavors of redcurrant jam, red plum syrup, stewed red plum and tobacco leaf. A very distinctive and much creamier than usual Tignanello, finishing with supple tannins and excellent length. Obviously the product of a warmer year, and though this outstanding Tignanello is a touch less refined than some recent standout vintages, it’s hard to argue with its sweet, soft style and early drinking appeal. No need to cellar this too long.Vinous Media | 92 VM(Antinori, Tignanello, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, Red) Still very deep in colour, this has a super-ripe cherry nose with no jamminess and some cedar tones. The fruit is seductive, with plum and cedar notes, ample acidity and tension, and a long, chocolatey finish. It may not have the flair of the 2010, but it’s approachable while not lacking in structure. (Drink between 2019-2030)Decanter | 92 DE

The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!Robert Parker | 100 RPI think the greatest Smith Haut Lafitte to date (possibly matched by the 2018), the 2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte tastes like it did on release, offering a smorgasbord of Graves magic in its smoked blackcurrants, chocolate, cold fireplace, truffle, unsmoked tobacco, and Asian spices. While this is a big, rich, incredibly concentrated Graves, it nevertheless maintains a beautiful level of nuance and elegance, with silky tannins, a seamless, multi-dimensional texture, and a heavenly finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. As with all truly great wines, it delivers an incredible amount of pleasure, both hedonistic and intellectual, all while staying weightless, graceful, and elegant. Hats off to the Cathiard family and winemaker Fabien Teitgen for this legendary Graves!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis is really loaded, with crushed plum, blueberry, cassis, fig and blackberry paste flavors all melded together, along with notes of tar, pastis and violet. Very long and dark, but polished and pure, with terrific fruit offset by a great tug of earth on the finish. Should cruise easily in the cellar. Best from 2015 through 2035. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSAromas of flowers, dried citrus fruit and blueberries follow through to a full body, with firm and silky tannins and a long, long finish. Gorgeous fruit and structure. Polished and powerful. Best red ever from Smith. Best in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSAs with many 2009 clarets, this is much more flamboyant than its 2010 sibling and provides a completely different flavour profile. Here the fruit is more ripe cherry with spice, cocoa and mocha. Sumptuously rich and voluptuous, this low acid wine has fine, silky, fluid tannins. This has power and personality in abundance and is almost entering its drinking window. However, the best is still yet to come.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2009 Smith Haut-Lafitte has a very perfumed, quite floral bouquet with violets permeating the black and red fruit, hints of game and leather developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. Touches of brown spice filter through the red fruit and towards a fleshy and lightly peppered finish. This is a classy Pessac-Léognan from the Cathiard’s...though, the 2016 is better! Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMVery dense and firm, this has powerful tannins as well as a blackberry jam flavor. The wine is complex, full of both dark tannins and the richest fruits, layered with notes of herb, spice and a concentrated structure.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pontet-Canet prances out of the glass with exuberant notes of black cherry preserves, warm cassis, and boysenberries, followed by a powerful perfume of star anise, candied violets, fallen leaves, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with decadently rich, sensuous black berry preserves and exotic spices flavors, backed by a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length. Stunning.The Wine Palate | 100 TWPAn amazing wine in every sense, this classic, full-bodied Pauillac is the quintessential Pontet Canet from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who continues to reduce yields and farms his vineyards biodynamically – a rarity in Bordeaux. Black as a moonless night, the 2009 Pontet Canet offers up notes of incense, graphite, smoke, licorice, creme de cassis and blackberries. A wine of irrefutable purity, laser-like precision, colossal weight and richness, and sensational freshness, this is a tour de force in winemaking that is capable of lasting 50 or more years. The tannins are elevated, but they are sweet and beautifully integrated as are the acidity, wood and alcohol (which must be in excess of 14%). This vineyard, which is situated on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, appears to have done everything perfectly in 2009. This cuvee should shut down in the cellar and re-open in a decade or more. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2075.Robert Parker | 100 RPA consistently perfect wine every time I’ve had it, the 2009 Château Pontet-Canet is the greatest wine from this address to date as well as one of the greatest Pauillacs out there. Still youthfully ruby/purple and with a gorgeous perfume of blackcurrants, lead pencil, graphite, crushed rocks, and damp earth, it’s still youthful but is just now starting to show more nuance and complexity. Full-bodied on the palate, with a powerful, concentrated mid-palate, incredible depth of fruit, and flawless balance, Bordeaux simply does not get any better. You couldn’t have too much of this in the cellar, and this magical wine is going to drink brilliantly for another 50 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDDeep garnet colored, the 2009 Pontet-Canet prances out of the glass with exuberant notes of black cherry preserves, warm cassis, and boysenberries, followed by a powerful perfume of star anise, candied violets, fallen leaves, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with decadently rich, sensuous black berry preserves and exotic spices flavors, backed by a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length. Stunning.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIA superb wine, with the purest fruit, great freshness and ripeness. It is certainly structured with dry tannins, but the blackcurrant freshness is all there. The wine has a great limpid, flowing feel, lbut also power.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEStunning aromas of fresh flowers, with blueberries, blackberries and currants that follow through to a full body, with super balance and finesse. The tannins are super polished. Such class here. Best ever from here. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 98 JSBeautifully deep ruby colour, deliciously brambled fruits, cigar box, chocolate drops, mint leaf, confident and cradling tannins, this is a beautiful wine, easy and luxurious. The estate was in organic conversion at this point, not yet certified. Great quality. Jean-Michel Comme technical director.Jane Anson | 98 JAThis is amazingly expressive now considering how huge it is, with stunning espresso and warm fig confiture aromas followed by lush layer after layer of blackberry paste, cassis and plum sauce. A terrific loam underpinning strides in on the finish, which is weighty but sports serious cut. Equal parts fruit and earth. Best from 2018 through 2038. 26,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2009 Pontet-Canet needs more encouragement from the glass than its peers, but it rewards the imbiber with seductive pure cassis and blackberry fruit, touches of autumn leaves and pencil box. The palate is medium-bodied with firm but fine tannin, a lovely bead of acidity. A harmonious, brown spice and smoke tinged finish fans out with confidence. You could open this now but it still has two more decades of drinking pleasure to give. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMSumptuous black-fruits nose, vividly aromatic, as well as minty, stylish, and toasty. Very rich, broad, full-bodied and generous, with very ripe tannins and a lot fo spice. Perhaps slightly lower acidity than usual but has punch and persistence all the same. Approachable, just, but will benefit from more age. Good length with a chewy but not astringent finish. Drinking Window 2018 - 2035Decanter Magazine | 95 DEC

The 2009 Les Forts de Latour is engaging and quite complex on the nose with blackberry, bilberry, hints of brine and freshly rolled tobacco, all very well delineated and gaining vigor with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but firm tannin that frame layers of black fruit laced with pencil lead and tobacco, very convincing on the finish that has one of the longest lengths of any Pauillac in this flight. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMDeep and dark with a ton of smoke and earth, the cassis fruit very much in the background, this is a concentrated and complex wine. Powerful yet racy palate with an elegant mineral finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 96 JSPossibly the best second wine ever made at Latour (and I love how the 1982 is drinking at age 30), the 2009 Les Forts de Latour is composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot blended with a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, and finished at 13.5% alcohol. Juicy notes of creme de cassis, licorice, camphor, smoke and crushed rocks are followed by a rich, unctuously textured, thick, juicy, exceptionally pure, long wine. This beauty will be at its finest in several years and should keep for three decades.Proprietor Francois Pinault and his director, Frederic Engerer, have pulled out all the stops to produce one of the most monumental Latour’s ever made.Robert Parker | 95 RPMint aromas hint at the wood, but more important is the massive Merlot fruit that is an essential element in the blend. The result is a wine that blends richness and power with an initially severe character. Slowly it opens to reveal opulent blackberry jam flavors, immensely ripe.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEMore muscular and closed than the Petit Mouton, here the tannins are beautifully flexed, with real purity of fruit and lovely texture. It’s excellent quality, showing focus and a sense of poise and purpose. A brilliant wine, and one that will age well. These first-growth second wines in 2009 are amazing! Drinking Window 2019 - 2038Decanter | 94 DECThis has purity and precision, with mouthwatering blackberry, black currant and steeped plum fruit racing along, nicely laced with graphite and studded with enticing ganache and iron notes through the finish. Sleek, but the grip is there. Best from 2014 through 2028. 10,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS(Les Forts de Latour (barrel sample)) The 2009 Forts de Latour is the spitting image of the grand vin, as it is deep, pure complex, broad-shouldered and quite structured. The bouquet is a very fine, quite reserved mélange of black cherries, dark berries, tobacco leaf, a great base of complex, gravelly soil tones and cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and tight, with a rock solid core of fruit, plenty of ripe tannins, very good acidity for the vintage and a very long, firm and classy finish. A superb Forts de Latour in the making (Drink between 2022-2050)John Gilman | 90-91+ JG

One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe greatest wine I’ve ever tasted from this address is the 2009 Léoville Poyferré, which is a step up over both the 2000 and the 2010. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and the balance Cabernet Franc that hit 13.9% alcohol, it offers everything you could ask of a wine and reveals a saturated purple color as well as incredible notes of crème de cassis, blueberries, lead pencil, exotic Spices, and dried flowers. Incredibly full-bodied, super concentrated, deep, and opulent, yet still pure, fresh, and lively, it has sweet tannin and a hedonistic vibe that hides its underlying structure. Drink it anytime over the coming three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDBeautiful blueberries and blackberries with some blackcurrants and flowers on the nose. Some black olives and crushed stones, too. Full-bodied with creamy tannins and lovely depth. The tannins are so integrated and plush, but fine-grained. Persistent finish. A red that gives wonderful pleasure now, but will continue to do so for decades ahead.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2009 Léoville Poyferré has an outstanding bouquet with blackberry, mint and cedar aromas, almost Pauillac in style, very dense and with plenty of horsepower. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins that frame layers of blackberry infused with graphite and white pepper. I love the symmetry and control of this Poyferré, in particular its persistent finish. This is a magnificent wine from Didier Cuvelier. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMRich, exotic and generous, this is still young and firm but light on its feet, dancing through the palate. There’s lovely depth to the fruit, with a great silky texture. Those tannins bite in all the right places. Very good indeed. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040Decanter | 96 DECAn immensely structured wine, packed with dark tannins promising aging potential. It is complex, powerful, layered with new wood and concentration, finishing with dark plum fruits and acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WESolid notes of steeped black currant, ganache-coated fig and plum eau de vie pump along in this very dark red, but with well-integrated structure. Long and winey through the finish, with the grip extending everything nicely. Best from 2016 through 2026. 17,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Pure perfection in a glass, the incredible 2009 Troplong Mondot offers off the chart notes of blackcurrants, licorice, truffles and saddle leather that just soar from the glass. This is a big, ripe, incredibly sexy wine that hits the palate with a huge texture, building, ripe tannin, no weight, and a finish that just won’t quit. Utterly brilliant stuff, it’s slightly more approachable than the 2005, but both of these vintages play in the same style. Drink bottles anytime over the coming two to three decades. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDIt boasts an inky/purple color along with a gorgeous bouquet of mocha, chocolate, blackberry and cassis fruit, an unctuous texture, a full-bodied, viscous mouthfeel and a skyscraper-like, multilayered finish. This spectacular wine is nearly overwhelming in its richness, thickness and intensity. Once all its baby fat falls away, the terroir characteristics and additional nuances will emerge. This blockbuster, fabulous Troplong Mondot will benefit from 10-15 years of cellaring and keep for three decades or more. It is not shy either, bouncing over the palate with 15.5% natural alcohol.The 2009 Troplong Mondot will provide plenty of competition for the 2010, 2005 and 2000. It comes closest in style to the prodigious 1990 that proprietress Christine Valette produced 22 years ago. A phenomenal effort, it unquestionably justifies its relatively new Premier Grand Cru St.-Emilion status. Readers should keep in mind that the 1990, which probably has lower acidity and not the level of concentration found in the 2009, is drinking incredibly well at age 22 and reveals no signs of falling apart.Robert Parker | 99 RPA very concentrated wine with such a stylish feel. It balances ripe berry fruits with chocolate and wood flavors in the richest, ripest combination. The wine has power, without losing its poised character. It’s ready for long aging.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEAlthough this is very ripe and rich with a generous body and a slew of black fruit aromas it’s also elegant and poised. The bitter chocolate character is more restrained than in many modern-style Right Bank wines of this period and there’s a lovely balance of lively acidity with fine dry tannins at the complex finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 96 JSVery dark, with strong pastis-soaked blackberry and roasted plum notes leading the way, with layers of sweet spice, mocha and tobacco filling in on the finish. Rather lush and perhaps a touch too roasted in style for some folks, with enough just grip to keep it going. Best from 2013 through 2024. 6,288 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThese were the St-Emilion excess years and you see it here, with kirsch flamboyance on the nose from the off. You hover around before tasting, not quite sure of how close to get. There’s gloss to the palate, with high-toned silky fruits that are not balanced perfectly with the heat running through the palate. I remember this at En primeur, and it hasn’t calmed down enough over the last 10 years. It’s got all the stuffing to impress, but you need to be looking for a very specific style. Lovers of subtlety should look elsewhere. Drinking Window 2021 - 2046Decanter | 91 DECThe 2009 Troplong-Mondot has a completely over the top, gregarious and raisin-like bouquet that frankly comes as no surprise given the philosophy of the estate at this time. The palate is sweet on the entry with candied black cherries, cassis and cough candy, unlike Bordeaux in some ways with a rather cloying and alcoholic finish. Now it seems like an anachronism. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Floral and precise fruit, with blackberry-skin character and mineral undertones. Full-bodied, with superfine tannins and a fresh, clean finish. Long and tight. Racy. Lovely texture. 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 percent Merlot and 15 percent Petit Verdot. This property is really on a roll now, delivering racy and structured reds; it gives much more freshness and character to the wine.Wine Spectator | 93-96 WSFabulous aromas of licorice, flowers and blackcurrants follow through to a full body with wonderful silky and caressing tannins and a long, flavorful finish. It’s complex and exceptional. Better in 2018 but so enjoyable to taste and drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSIt is not unusual that the 2009 La Lagune is a spectacular effort given the fact that this estate has been making terrific wines over the last decade or more. It boasts a dense purple color as well as a beautiful perfume of blueberries, mulberries, cassis, white chocolate and subtle toasty oak. Notes of Chinese black tea, cedarwood and forest floor also make an appearance in the singular aromatic and flavor profiles. This sumptuous, full-bodied La Lagune possesses low acidity, abundant but ripe, sweet tannin and a long, 45-second finish. Give this beauty 5-7 years of bottle age and drink it over the following three decades.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe greater power and intensity that comes from the 2009 vintage is hugely seductive, lending an extra dimension to a wine that feels similar in shape and feel to the brilliant 2005. Again, it’s the brambly blackberry fruits that are so striking, and the unfussy way that it builds through the palate and hangs on. A yield of 45hl/ha. 50% new oak. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040Decanter | 93 DEC(60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 10% petit verdot): Deep, bright ruby-red. Sexy aromas of currant, underbrush, leather and toasty oak. Plush, seamless and sweet; full-bodied but not heavy. Pliant flavors of currant, plum and earth expand to fill the mouth. Finishes with broad, fine tannins and sneaky building length. Classic Old World claret from a ripe year: velvety, sweet and long.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Haut-Brion needs a little shaking to wake up notes of boysenberry preserves, star anise, and potpourri, giving way to hints of cardamom, iron ore, and fragrant soil. The full-bodied palate delivers incredible tension with very fine-grained tannins and lots of mineral sparks, finishing long and opulent. Gorgeous. The blend is 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc.The Wine Palate | 100 TWPWhat 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 RPExtravagant 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 JSThis 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 WSThere’s exceptional purity to the dark, sombre fruit that spills out of the glass, pristine and glistening. Despite the intense ripeness, it’s peppered with freshness in the form of caperberry salinity, cranberry lift and bright acidity. Big boned, with cotton-wool tannins and marvellous poise and presence.Decanter | 98 DECThe 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 WEI 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

One of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted, the monumental 2009 Cos d’Estournel has lived up to its pre-bottling potential. A remarkable effort from winemaking guru Jean-Guillaume Prats and owner Michel Reybier, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot (33%) and a touch of Cabernet Franc (2%) was cropped at 33 hectoliters per hectare. It boasts an inky/black/purple color along with an extraordinary bouquet of white flowers interwoven with blackberry and blueberry liqueur, incense, charcoal and graphite. The wine hits the palate with extraordinary purity, balance and intensity as well as perfect equilibrium, and a seamless integration of tannin, acidity, wood and alcohol. An iconic wine as well as a remarkable achievement, it is the greatest Cos d’Estournel ever produced. It is approachable enough at present that one could appreciate it with several hours of decanting, but it will not hit its prime for a decade, and should age effortlessly for a half century.Robert Parker | 100 RPAnother magical wine from this property, the 2009 Château Cos D’Estournel reminds me slightly of the 2005 with its incredibly rich, powerful, opulent style married to stunning finesse and elegance. Still youthful yet with a touch of maturity, its deep ruby/plum color is followed by classic Saint-Estèphe notes of blackcurrants, dried tobacco, loamy earth, Asian spices, and licorice. Deep, full-bodied, and massive on the palate, it’s flawlessly balanced and has building tannins hiding under its wealth of fruit, with no hard edges and a great, great finish. This tour de force is still 5-7 years away from maturity and is a legendary wine to follow over the coming 40-50 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA very bold, ripe and complex wine with excellent concentration and a warm, engaging personality (cinnamon and allspice) that’s hard to resist. With aeration a hint of dried fruit character emerges. Massive, yet polished finish. It’s been rated 100 in the past. We will see. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 98 JSThis shows why everyone loves the vintage. Features a gorgeous display of perfectly melded plum, red currant and blackberry fruit that flows beautifully over very creamy tannins. Still nearly all fruit, with flecks of warm stone and iron on the finish. This could easily sit in this phase for some time, but will be hard to resist. Totally modern and beautifully done.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Best from 2020 through 2040. 20,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA hugely rich wine, where the tannins seem initially lost in the overwhelming fruit. It has power and concentration, showing its alcohol a little. There is great intensity, but an edge of Portiness from the super-rich fruit.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEIntense, pureed damson fruit aromas remind me of its impact at En primeur, although then it was a little overblown. The terroir is starting to come through now, but the fruit still feels a touch overripe and overly concentrated, not enabling the juiciness that the clay soils of St-Estèphe should be highlighting. It’s still extremely young with a great life ahead of it, so this is one to put away for a while longer and give that terroir more of a chance to exert itself over the vintage character. Drinking Window 2020 - 2038Decanter | 93 DECThe 2009 Cos d’Estournel has an expansive and undeniably seductive bouquet, a mélange of red and black fruit, cold slate, damp earthy bordering on mulch-like aromas all delivering with ample freshness and certainly better delineation that it showed in its infancy. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, quite rich in style, decadent with a sweet core of fruit that is attractive but very un-Bordeaux like. Cos d’Estournel? Plush but bereft of intellect. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 91 VM

One of my favorite vintages from this incredible terroir located on the upper plateau of Saint-Emilion, the 2009 Château Canon is just about pure perfection in a glass. It delivers a monster bouquet of blackberries, raspberries, white truffle, and flowery incense that develops beautifully with time in the glass. Rich, full-bodied, and powerful, it’s still classic Saint-Emilon, offering incredible minerality as well as structure. This brilliant wine can be drunk any time over the coming two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDMedium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Canon is a little reticent to begin, opening out to notions of rare beef, cast iron pan, cigar boxes and cloves with a core of baked plums and mulberries plus a waft of dried lavender. Full, richly fruited and sill quite youthful, the palate has a firm yet velvety texture and seamless freshness supporting the generous fruit, finishing long and mineral laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPA fleshy and generous St.-Emilion with a great interplay of fresh and super-ripe plum aromas. Behind this is quite a major tannin structure and plenty of chalky minerality that carries the bold finish beautifully. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 95 JSHugely dense, foursquare wine with great fruit and the purest tannins. Chocolate and coffee predominate at the same time as sweet tannins and acidity. A wine that combines charm with great power.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis is a creamy, lush, hedonist’s wine, with suave, textured layers of fig sauce, puréed plum and cassis woven with hints of mocha and pain d’épices. Picks up grip though, joined by a roasted mesquite hint on the finish for added length. Best from 2014 through 2025. 4,415 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe director of Canon in 2009 was John Kolasa, a less deft touch perhaps than Nicolas Audebert today, but still making some great wines. This has ripe fruits and a generous attack. It’s still very young but there are hints of a wine that’s starting to evolve, with moments of tobacco and leather. The mouthwatering juiciness through the back half of the palate is really appetising, and although it’s less precise than a Canon of today, you can certainly see all the building blocks here. It has a slightly savoury quality to the fruit, not displaying the excess of some St-Emilions in this vintage. A good quality wine, this is entering its drinking window but has plenty of time left. Drinking Window 2019 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Canon) The 2009 Canon is an unequivocally great wine in the making and will probably end up resembling the 1982 Canon in style, but prove to be superior to that fine bottle. As is the style of classically made wines such as this, today the ’09 Canon is tight, structured and only hinting at the superb complexity to come, but with its superb quality clearly evident. The bouquet offers up an excellent aromatic mélange of black cherries, dark berries, espresso, woodsmoke, herb tones, tobacco leaf, lovely soil tones and a touch of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, ripe and rock solid at the core, with impeccable balance, firm, ripe tannins and great focus and grip on the long, properly reserved and chewy finish. A great classic in the making. (Drink between 2020-2070).John Gilman | 93-94+ JGThe 2009 Canon has a surprisingly muted bouquet despite rigorous aeration, reluctantly offering black fruit, meat juices and light garrigues-like aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy, slightly coarse tannin, quite spicy but overall, rather overbearing and lacking tension on the finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 91 VM

A brilliant wine that stands out as one of the high points of the vintage, the 2009 Montrose unwinds in the glass with a rich and incipiently complex bouquet of dark berries, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, framed by a deftly judged touch of new oak. Full-bodied, broad and enveloping, it’s a velvety, layered and impressively dynamic wine that’s deep and concentrated, exhibiting terrific balance and a long, resonant finish. While it is still five or six years away from showing all its cards, I have drunk this benchmark for contemporary Montrose with immense pleasure three times this year. In style, it’s hard to find an obvious comparison (and I have drunk Montrose back to 1895), but I would be inclined to invoke a fresher, more complete and more powerful version of the estate’s very successful 2003.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2009 Montrose has a taut, brilliantly defined bouquet with intense black fruit laced with crushed stone, forest floor, crushed rose petals and a touch of slate. Magnificent. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, good depth and grip, plenty of graphite locked in here with a bravura finish that indicates that this Saint-Estèphe is in for the long-haul. It may well deserve a higher score as it evolves in bottle. Everything you wish for in a Montrose. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98+ VMFor the very ripe vintage this has a herbal and wet earth nose that’s very cool. Then on the palate there’s a ton of ripe cassis, polished fine tannins and a tremendous freshness powering the very long dry finish. One of the stars of the vintage that’s just beginning to enter its best form. This is normally a perfect wine but perhaps not a perfect bottle? Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 98 JSA bit of a brute, with a very chewy bittersweet ganache, tobacco and roasted fig core splayed open right now by a dagger of roasted apple wood, allspice and cedar. Long and dense through the finish, with a strong singed iron edge. The stuffing is certainly there, but this will take a while to come together as it’s running unbridled right now. Proves you can still get classic old-school Bordeaux. Best from 2020 through 2040. 17,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA brilliant Montrose, and a great window into what St Estèphe can deliver. This is fresh and concentrated, with ripe cassis fruits, sweet vanilla bean and black pepper spice notes alongside robust tannins, 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Jean-Bernard Delmas was estate director for this wine, and is making the most of the complex soils that are gravel-dominant towards the river, with pockets of sand over clay and limestone where the Merlots tend to be planted. Starting to feel ready to drink, but is going nowhere in a hurry. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042.Decanter | 97 DECEnormous tannins, dominant black fruit and a solid, dense structure. The wine, packed with dark fruits, dry tannins, very firm in character. With its huge tannins as well as fruit, this is a wine that really needs many years of aging.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Montrose) For lovers of old school claret, the 2009 Montrose is your wine! Jean Delmas has eschewed every modern accoutrement in this traditionally-styled, broad-shouldered and very structured Montrose, and I am hard-pressed to think of any vintage since the legendary wines of the 1920s that have emerged from this property with this kind of potential. The bouquet is deep, reticent and bottomless, as it offers up scents of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, cigar ash, a very complex base of gravelly soil tones and a bit of cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and powerful in a very classic way (in comparison to the caricature of a wine at Cos this year), with a rock solid core of fruit, very firm, but ripe and well-integrated tannins, tangy acids and a very, very long, focused and soil-driven finish. This is the real deal in 2009 and clearly one of the wines of the vintage. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 93-95 JG

Proprietor Denis Durantou has produced a blockbuster Pomerol from a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, tipping the scales at just over 14.5% natural alcohol. A riveting wine, pure, elegant, but at the same time, extremely powerful and concentrated, with stunning texture, opulence and density, the tannins are abundant, and the wine certainly in need of a decade of cellaring. Fabulous creme de cassis and cherry liqueur notes are intertwined with hints of licorice, truffle, and graphite. Full and rich, but still in an infantile state of development, this wine needs to be cellared for 10 years but should keep for five decades or more. This 2009 is absolutely profound.Robert Parker | 99+ RPThe 2009 l’Eglise-Clinet was picked 14 to 28 September and matured in 80% new oak. It remains remarkably youthful on the nose, rendering the brilliant 2010 a bit introverted by comparison. This comes racing out of the blocks with ebullient red cherries, crushed strawberry and raspberry fruit, touches of dried rose petal and melted tar. With aeration there is just a touch of liquorish. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin that belies the arching structure underneath. It manages to retain awesome power and yet deliver a refined finish that feels long and tender. Stunning. Tasted at the l’Eglise-Clinet vertical at the château in April 2018.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe nose on this already suggests a deep and contemplative wine with blackberry, dried flowers and sweet berries. Evolves to black olive and hints of asphalt. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and tangy, rich fruit. It really grabs hold of you and wants to tell you it’s special. Loads of ripe tannins too. Big and structured. Turns to tapenade.Wine Spectator | 97-100 WSAromas of dark fruits, hazelnut and dark chocolate, follow through to a full body, with velvety tannins that are polished and refined. Beautiful depth of fruit to this. Best in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JS

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

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 DECA 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 RPThis 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 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

A big, powerful, masculine Pomerol with a style not dissimilar from Le Gay, the dense purple-colored 2009 Gazin exhibits black currant, black cherry liqueur, coffee, roasted herb, an exotic Asian spice component, vanillin, creme caramel and toasty oak in its aromatics and flavors. From a vineyard near Petrus, Le Gay and La Fleur Petrus, it is full-bodied with licorice, earth, truffle and creme de cassis in the mouth. Give this powerful, backward 2009 an additional 6-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades.Robert Parker | 96 RPVery dark, spicy and mysterious, this is a concentrated and graceful Pomerol that shows what was possible in this vintage if everything was done right. The stunningly fine tannins drive the very long subtle finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2009 Gazin has a very concentrated, high-toned bouquet with Merlot firmly in the driving seat, a mixture of black and blue fruit. The palate is rounded on the entry with supple tannin, succulent and glossy in style with macerated black cherries and salted liquorice towards the finish. This needs another year or two in the glass. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMGazin has vines at the highest point in Pomerol, at just over 40m, right next to Petrus. This is a powerful, upright wine that’s just getting going at 10 years old. It was double-decanted for two hours before the tasting, which helped enormously compared to when I tasted it a few weeks ago. You can feel the tannins holding everything in place buy the quality and intensity of the fruit is unmissable. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040Decanter | 93 DECThis has it all in place—dark, smoldering tobacco and cocoa notes, rich plum sauce, braised fig and steeped black currant fruit, joined by lengthy, mouthcoating, tar-tinged grip. Still youthfully raw, though, so cellar for maximum effect. Best from 2014 through 2028. 5,541 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA smoky wine, its fruit submerged in the wood character. It does have weight, along with powerful, tight tannins. It’s a wine that will need many years.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

The 2009 Grange Shiraz is a comprised of 84% Barossa, 8% McLaren, and a little Clare Valley and a little Magill fruit with a small 2% of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. At this youthful stage, this deep garnet-purple colored wine puts forward a vivid expression of blackberry preserve aromas amid underlying cassis, black cherry, spice box, char-grilled meat and chocolate box notes. Surprisingly medium to full-bodied (it smells much fuller!) with taut flavors that are very closed in the mouth, it has firm, chewy tannins to structure through the long and earthy finish. 406 cases imported to the US. Drink it 2018 to 2035+.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA tiny 2% Cabernet component in 2009, this is sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate and has spent 18 months in exclusively new American oak hogsheads. The depth and complexity on offer is straight up impressive, blue and black fruit aromas unwind, meaty at times, some dark green herbal notes and a cedary layer of oak lurking below. The palate has a core of essence-like flavour with plenty of oak-derived spice framed around blackberry, blood plum and cola. Tannins are smooth and even, flavours are gently glazed around the dark fruit spectrum, some blue fruits too. This is a wistful Grange that, as always, faithfully reflects the vintage. James Suckling | 95 JSHuge dill and vanilla aromas wrap around intense mixed-berry fruit, ending on notes of espresso and dark chocolate. It’s full bodied and richly textured, but perhaps a bit coarse as well. This may not be the biggest, baddest or longest-lived Grange, but it maintains the Grange standard of excellence. Drink 2020–2030.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(98% shiraz and 2% cabernet sauvignon): Inky ruby. Intense spice- and mineral-accented aromas of cherry pit, blackberry and plum, with smoke and floral qualities adding complexity. Taut and linear on entry, then fleshier in the mid-palate, offering zesty dark fruit and violet pastille flavors and hints of licorice and vanilla. Finishes smoky, spicy and very long, with youthfully firm, building tannins adding grip. In a relatively taut, wound-up style for this wine; by all means give it some age.Vinous Media | 94 VMAromatically pure, with beautiful focus to the blueberry, black currant, espresso and cream character. In the mouth this sprouts prickly tannins and picks up a distinct tomato leaf note that sends the wine in a different direction. This has depth, length and plenty of ripeness without excess weight, but lacks the complete harmony of the best vintages. Best from 2016 through 2030. 406 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Phenomenal aromas and flavors of pure fruit with stones and rock. Turns to mint and eucalyptus. Full body, with powerful yet polished tannins. Creamy and fresh. Changes continually. The finish goes on for minutes Savory. And juicy.James Suckling | 99 JSComposed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2009 IX Estate exhibits a flowery bouquet with notes of subtle smoke, blackberries, black currants, kirsch and baking spices. Rich, deep and full-bodied, this voluptuous, sensational blend boasts an inky/purple color. While approachable, it should hit its stride in 4-5 years and last for two to three decades.Robert Parker | 97 RPThe 2009 IX Estate is deep garnet in color. It needs a swirl or two to bring out notes of creme de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, and blueberry preserves, followed by suggestions of cigar box, graphite, red loam, and tapenade. The palate is rich, full-bodied, and wonderfully bold, with bright, slow-maturing black fruits and firm, ripe grainy tannins, finishing long with saline and gentle herbal layers.The Wine Independent | 97 TWIFull, deep ruby. Deep aromas of dark fruits, spices, smoky oak and flowers, plus a whiff of game. Utterly plush and mouthfilling but not at all heavy, showing serious thickness and high-altitude density to its sweet blue and black fruit, spice and chocolate flavors. And yet this wine’s floral element gives it an almost light touch, if that’s possible. Some subtle soil tones reminded me of the outstanding Syrah from this site on Pritchard Hill. Finishes with substantial but noble tannins and terrific length.Vinous Media | 96 VMA muscle-bound effort, tight, dense and chewy, with tar, blackberry, cedar and tobacco flavors. Ends with a pleasant wall of tannins and a persistent push of flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2030. 1,300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS