Mark Taylor Weekend: 2009 Bordeaux
Just got through with the annual Mark Taylor vintage Bordeaux horizontal of the 2009 vintage.
Charles Curtis and Michael McNeill helped to educate us. Eric Asimov was there on Sunday. Michael Davis (Hart,Davis,Hart) was there. Roy Hersh was in from Portugal. Many interesting wine personalities.
Charles supplied some vintage information and to me very important information on the wine cepages. I am quoting here from Charles, so this is property of Charles Curtis but supplied as a supplement for this tasting. For educational purposes only and not for reproduction.
2009 Bordeaux Retrospective â March 2026
*There were a number of top-flight vintages in the first decade of the new century, but many would argue that the finest of these was 2009. The wines are voluptuous, accessible, and hedonistic, yet structured enough to last. One might say that 2009 is an updated version of 1982 â almost a â1982.2â These are substantial wines with abundant extract; lots of tannin yet no astringency; enough acidity to give definition but not so much as to make them hard or unyielding; and a sweet, ripe character to the fruit with no sense of it being baked or over-ripe. The secret to the seductive nature of the fruit is that the vines never shut down during the growing season as they will do in the instances of excessive heat or drought. There was just enough water in July and August to keep the vines ripening the fruit throughout the season, and while there were hot days (and plenty of sunshine), the grapes did not suffer the excessive heat spikes that they saw in 2000 or 2003. *
The year got off to an appropriate start with a cold, wet winter that plunged the vines into dormancy and refilled the water table and ensured that budbreak didnât start too early; there was no hint of spring frost, and flowering happened early and finished quickly, setting a large crop on the vines. There was a hail storm on 11 May, but it did not damage the best vines, and was chiefly felt in Cognac and in the Bordeaux region in Bourg, Blay, and the southern MĂŠdoc; it missed most of Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac, and Saint-Estèphe on the Left Bank, and Pomerol and most of Saint-Emilion on the Right.
The whites were picked early in warm, dry conditions; the region saw was moderate rainfall on 18, 19, and 20 September, but there was no more rain after that until the harvest was complete. The key was to wait until after the rain to pick the Merlot, and to wait until the Cabernet was fully ripe, beginning in mid-October. Because of the gentle nature of the growing season, the vines ripened to levels not often seen in Bordeaux â mostly over 14% on the Left Bank and up to (and sometimes beyond) 15% on the Right bank. If picked at the right time, both Cabernet and Merlot were successfulâ2009 is the perfect instance of being able to enjoy your Cab and Merlot too.
*Varietal breakdown: *
Château Bellevue-Mondotte : 90% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 5% Cab Sauv
Château Cantemerle : 60% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 6% Cab Franc
Château Cheval Blanc : 56% Merlot, 42% Cab Franc, 2% Cab Sauv
Château Duhart-Milon : 63% Cab Sauv, 37% Merlot
Château Gruaud-Larose : 61% Cab Sauv, 29% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Château dâIssan : 60% Cab Sauv, 40% Merlot
Château Lafite-Rothschild : 82.5% Cab Sauv, 17% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot
Château La Lagune : 60% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot
Château Lanessan : Cabernet Sauvignon, not disclosed ; (52% Cabernet Sauvignon
37% Merlot, 8 % Petit Verdot, 3 % Cabernet Franc in the vineyard)
Château Latour : 91.3% Cab Sauv, 8.7% Merlot
Château Latour Carnet : 62% Merlot, 33% Cab Sauv, 2% Cab Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
Château LÊoville-Las Cases : 76% Cab Sauv, 15% Merlot, 9% Cab Franc
Château LÊoville-Poyferre : 60% Cab Sauv, 29% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Cab Franc
Château Lynch-Bages : 76% Cab Sauv, 18% Merlot, 4% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Château Malescot-St-Exupery : 51% Cab Sauv, 35% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
Château Margaux : 87% Cab Sauv, 9% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Château La Mission-Haut-Brion : 43% Merlot Noir, 47% Cab Sauv, 6% Cab Franc
Château Monbousquet : 60% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc, 10% Cab Sauv
Château Mouton-Rothschild : 88% Cab Sauv, 12% Merlot
Château Pavie-Macquin : 85% Merlot, 14% Cab Franc, 1% Cab Sauv
Château Pichon-Longueville Baron : 70% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot
Château Poujeaux : 51% Merlot, 41% Cab Sauv, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Cab Franc
Château Pavie : 70% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc, 10% Cab Sauv
Château Pontet-Canet : 65% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot, 4% Cab Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Saturday
Flight One
Bellevue Mondotte St Emilion
Cantermerle Haut Medoc
Duhart Milon Paulliac
Château dâIssan Margaux
Lannesan Haut Medoc
Château Poujeaux Moulis
Wine 1- This one started with primary darker fruit on the nose. This expanded with time. Earthy notes and graphite. Focused darker fruit with very fine tannins. With the food I was eating, it was sublime. This finish was simple, but this was beautiful.
Wine 2- This had a dark fruit nose and palate. A little tannic on the mid palate. Still, I enjoyed the wine with food.
Wine 3- This one is dark fruit, graphite and cedar on the nose with aggressive tannins that became silky with air. Delicious finish of darker fruit and some element of minerals.
Wine 4- Fantastic nose of sexy red/black fruit. Earthy but precise. Still a little tannic but this one showed great. Not the most complex but this was terrific with food.
Wine 5 - Sexy red fruited nose. Some floral elements. The palate here has that extra gear of intensity and also elegance. Very long. To me the best here.
Wine 6- This silky dark red Merlot fruit. Riper. Very concentrated. Extremely sexy texture but shows some wood on the finish. New style. Lots liked it for the sexy fruit.
As is our usual we voted for our favorites. This rarely means anything, but it is a fun exercise and brings on some great comments. Here is the reveal.
6th favorite wine- Wine 2 Chateau Poujeaux Moulis
5th favorite wine- Wine 1 Chateau Cantermerle Haut Medoc
4th favorite wine- Wine 3 Chateau Duhart Milon Paulliac
3rd favorite wine â Wine 4 Chateau Lannesan Haut Medoc (so good!)
2nd favorite wine- Wine 5 Chateau dâIssan Margaux
1st favorite wine- Wine 6 Château Bellevue-Mondotte St Emilion
My personal favorite of this flight was the Chateau dâIssan. Such a GREAT wine. The St Emillion was very much like an excellent US merlot. Beautiful wine but the Margaux was so sexy!
Saturday
Flight Two
Chateau La Lagune Haut Medoc
Château Leoville Las Cases St. Julien
Château Latour Pauillac
Château Pichon Longueville Baron Pauillac
Château Margaux Margaux
Château Cheval Blanc St Emillon
Wine 1- Absolutely incredible sexy nose. Dark fruit with coffee spice and some element of earthiness. Intense. VERY long in the mouth. Fabulous!
Wine 2- More red fruited. Medium concentrated. Not quite as intense but shows extremely nice on the finish.
Wine 3- Very sexy red fruit on the nose. Coffee. Floral. Tannic red fruit on the palate but intense and unravels in layers. Very long in the mouth and kept evolving.
Wine 4- Darker. Spicy. Coffee on the nose and the entry fruit. Darker. Very elegant and long. Terrific!
Wine 5- Precise dark fruit with cedar, graphite some element of cassis on the nose. Incredibly precise. Delicious and long. A baby.
Wine 6 - Dark red fruit with coffee and some early element on the nose. Precise and restrained. Huge mid palate and finish that doesnât end.
6th favorite wine- Wine 5 Chateau Latour
5th favorite wine- Wine 2 Chateau La Lagune
4th favorite wine- Wine 1 Chateau Pichon Baron
3rd favorite wine - Wine 4 Chateau Cheval Blanc
2nd favorite wine- Wine 3 Château Margaux
1st favorite wine - Wine 6 Château Leoville Las Cases
Interesting outcome. This is a huge step up from flight one in both intensity and length. The wines were still evolving when we called time. The Pichon Baron was so amazing to me. The first growths took the longest to come out of their shells. A great day one. More to come.
Day Two
Bordeaux 2009 Horizontal
Flight One
Chateau Leoville Poyferre St Julien
Chateau St Pierre St Julien
Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac
Chateau Malescot St Exupery Margaux
Chateau Monbousquet St Emilion
Chateau Latour Carnet Haut Medoc
Wine 1- Delicious nose of intense red fruit. Some coffee notes. Very precise fruit with some earthy notes. Extraordinary finish.
Wine 2- Reticent nose but better with air. Sexy red fruit on the nose. Cedar. Graphite. Precise. Still dominated by tannin.
Wine 3- Spicy dark fruit. Voluptuous texture. Some element of what seems to be cabernet franc? Concentrated.
Wine 4- Beautiful sexy red fruit. Precise. Some floral element that takes time to evolve. The palate is nice. Very young but this one is so much better with air.
Wine 5- Beautiful darker fruit with elements of coffee. Earthy. Excellent length and sexy finish. This is very nice.
Wine 6- Darker fruit with intense dark fruit with mineral backbone. Very good finish. Still unwinding with the end of the tasting.
6th favorite wine - Wine 2 Chateau Lynch Bages
5th favorite wine- Wine 3 Chateau Monbousquet
4th favorite wine- Wine 4 Chateau Malescot St Exupery
3rd favorite wine - Wine 6 Château Latour Carnet
2nd favorite wine- Wine 1 Château Leoville Poyferre (my personal favorite)
1st favorite wine- Wine 5 Château St Pierre
A surprise. The St Juliens are showing so well these 2 days. The Leoville Poyferre was divine.
Flight Two
THE BIG BOYS
Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Graves
Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Château Gruaud Larose St Julien
Château Pavie St Emilion
Château Pontet Canet Pauillac
Wine 1- The most amazing nose of the two days. Infinite layering of dark fruit. Coated in magic dust minerals. Layer upon layer. Absolutely stunning. The palate is not quite as giving but shows incredible dark focused fruit with some element of cassis. Very pure Very long. A few coffee notes make you think this might be St Julien but the length here is first growth Pauillac.
Wine 2- More closed. Elegant. Graphite and cedar notes on the nose. Precise and mineral. The wine unwinds every few minutes. At the end of the tasting this one was just showing its stuff.
Wine 3- Coffee. Cedar. Lighter palate with lots of mineral. Some tannin that became silky and led to a wonderful finish of darker layered fruits. A great wine to me.
Wine 4- This has a dark nose with some element of earthy notes. Rocky notes lead to a long finish. Intense!
Wine 5- This wine feels high alcohol. Silky red/black fruit. Coffee. Sexy texture makes me think again of merlot. VERY CONCENTRATED.
Wine 6- Beautiful mid palate here. Coffee. Spice. Dark fruit on the nose. Precise palate. Some element of earthy notes that make me think St Julien but that can be a canard.
6th favorite- Wine 4 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion
5th favorite - Wine 2 Château Lafite (a baby - so elegant)
4th favorite- Wine 5 Chateau Pavie lots of first place and last place votes here
3rd favorite - Wine 3 Chateau Pontet Canet
2nd favorite - Wine 6 Château Gruaud Larose
1st favorite- Wine 1 Château Mouton Rothschild (a genius wine!)
What a tasting. A generous vintage. All the wines showed well. Sexy. The really big wines are just now starting to show a little of their potential. A great education for me!
Thanks Mark.
Todd French and Eric Levine. We missed you guys.