Sorry my first post is such a beast, but I hope people find it useful.
I was fortunate to have tasted 2005 EP in Bordeaux and was absolutely floored by the consistency in excellence, at every price point and in every commune – this was not the case last week tasting 09’s. In stark contrast to my experience with 2005 and disagreeing with a few of the other reports (though there is some overlap on case-by-case basis) I feel 2009 has been massively over-hyped. Quality is highly variable on both banks, leaving much to be desired at some surprising chateaux. There are a lot of good but flawed wines, translated loosely to a lot of 85-87 pointers if I used a numerical system. There’s lots of fruit and lots of structure and lots of impressive characteristics to dispute – but very few chateaux made wines that were powerful and finessed and balanced and true to bordeaux. In short, buyers should be very selective – a conclusion shared by my tasting group which included an MW and three London brokers. Readers should be aware that samples were highly variable, particularly at UGC tastings. Wines like Leoville Poyferre and Pichon Lalande were an absolute failure the first two times tasted, but were very pretty at the chateaux.
General Note: The hallmark of this vintage is alcohol, which was more a problem for merlot-heavy wines. One winemaker in Pomerol admitted that a bit of his Merlot come back at a natural 16 degrees of alcohol; which he sold in bulk because it was impossible to blend into balance. Some folks did better keeping the heat in check than others, and almost without exception, those are the chateaux that sit on top of the other reports I’ve read. Anyone who didn’t pay close attention to alcohol levels, acidity and ph made raw, aggressive wines that are unlikely to come into balance. All that said, fruit is competing with massive structure across both banks, but tannins are long, fine and ripe. The dry whites, with a few exceptions, were perfectly drinkable and would have presented categorically good value – for $15-20 Sancerre. The sweet wines, which I will not judge in this thread, were incredibly rich (not necessarily to good result) and also very variable in quality. Whereas it was important for the reds to keep alcohol in check, the question has to be asked for acidity levels on the sweets. More than a few came across as flabby and lacking in high notes.
Good news: There are some stellar wines, with some top names producing wines that will rival the historical greats, and in some cases, surpassing them. The vintage did provide excellent raw materials and attentive winemakers did very well. A few chateau overachieved to tremendous results.
Bad news: This was a vintage for extracted alcoholic wines. Those who prefer such wines will have an easier time overlooking the natural flaws intrinsic to the vintage. Admittedly, these wines are largely unfinished, but if the components are SO far out of balance now, its hard to imagine they will ever come into balance, in a classic sense. You just hope to drink the wine on a day the fruit is opulent enough to hold back the aggression.
The Wines:
Rather than providing full-on tasting notes, I’ve categorized the wines into levels of quality and will make brief notes on general behavior of the wine. Not all wines within a category are of equal quality. For example, an alcohol-tainted La Mission is falling from phenomenal, whereas a fantastic Grand Murailles is over-achieving – both are “very good” wines.
Phenomenal:
Ducru Beaucaillou: I really wanted to dislike the wine because it’s just too extracted and new-worldy; but it’s also too damn sexy to hate. Deep, expressive, massive with real sex appeal, the palate delivers on the promise of the nose. Not overbearing, this is well displayed with fresh acidity, long ripe tannin and a great sense of overall balance. Ducru knocked this one out of the park
Haut Brion: Woof! Superb poise and complexity with an ooh-la-la palate. Not quite WOTV quality, but terrific in length, balance with it’s long integrated finish. Pleases every part of the mouth. 2nd sample was extremely dusty, a little thinner and hollow but had not been long opened
Haut Brion Blanc: Superlative! A nose that wants to be perpetually inhaled and loved - without argument the most perfect white bordeaux I’ve tasted. Exceptionally rich, but not heavy with outstanding purity and balance. Crisp, fresh acidity keeps the palate awake for what is the essence of this great terroir.
Latour: Surreal quality here. Ultra tight, but phenomenally powerful. Better assembled than the 05 at this stage, finish goes on for ages. The wine has an equilibrium that should stand for 50+ years if only by accident, while stored upright on a kitchen counter in Death Valley. Staggering mass and ripeness and depth. WOTV candidate.
L’Evangile: Reticent nose over an explosive palate that is a thorough treatment of what merlot should be. Loads of fruit with lovely coffee and mocha. Awesome wine with ultra velvety tannins in the finessed, powerful but poised wine. Rich and ripe enough to carry the alcohol in the finish
Chateau Margaux: I imagine this is going to rival every great Margaux in the history of the estate. Nose is an ultra-dense version of the purity found in the 1990, with some of the additional nuance 2005 delivered from barrel. Tightly knit but should delineate into something spectacular. You get the feeling the sheer mass of this wine would dwarf any previous vintage though the wine is never heavy or overextracted. Marvelous! WOTV candidate
Mouton Rothschild: Though I’m not a fan of Mouton, this is a monumental effort. Massive weight and intensity, sound balance and an elaborate, flawless finish. There is the potential for this to turn TOO masculine with time, but this is promising
Petrus: WOW! Touches of dust in the fragrant, perfumed nose. Incredibly profound chocolate covered cherry is everywhere in this Hercules-was-a-wimp, massive wine. HUUUUGE, but sexy as hell with the definition excellent acid/tannin balance provides. Stunning, despite healthy dose of alcohol (14%). WOTV candidate
Vieux Chateau Certan: This is just wicked stuff. Ultra-hedonistic from the get-go with incredibly ripe black cherries and a hint of licorice. No heat, you just want to breath and swallow and breath and swallow. Finnesse incarnate, though that precision disguises a wealth of underlying power. Pure, sweet and beautiful – stellar juice.
Very Good:
Aisle d’Argent: Absolutely delicious. Precocious, rich, lush and sexy to drink
Ausone: Only the alcohol prevents this from being stellar. More masculine than recent vintages, this is a large-scaled Ausone to keep for ages, but don’t expect heat to dissipate.
Barde Haut: Delish new-worldy wine, but needs more acid. Velvety tannin, long and lively finish
Blaison de L’Evangile: Pretty chocolate, cherry and orange nose with a classic, delightful, balanced Pomerol palate. Gives a little heat to the sinus’ but not the rich, ripe body and finish
Calon Segur: With just a little more ripeness this would be a top-tier wine. Wicked aromatics and a very complete palate. Outstanding balance, just lacking a touch of concentration, but a very complete wine with power and finesse
Canon La Gaffeliere: sweet, powerful but not explosive. Well balanced with touch of cab franc green-ness in the long, sweet finish
Chauvin: Round, lush and full, well-integrated tannin and velvety long finish of ample fruit
Cheval Blanc: This is a wine that only just missed “phenomenal” as a result of obnoxious alcohol. Wine just barely pulls off a very good balance but this could have been a candidate for WOTV, if not legend status
Clerc Milon: Playful candy nose, nice balance and lengthy finish. Tastes like ultra-extracted beaujolais. 2nd sample was more alluring on the nose, richer and even better balanced. Very good!
Clinet: “Wow” nose, lots of classic Clinet here but still more complex. Alcohol is evident but well integrated, tannins are soft and long with pretty though astringent finish
Clos des Jacobins: Rich nose with great cab franc fruit and a bit of blood orange. Touch extracted, but ample acid, long finish. 2nd sample was a touch more extracted with less finesse but still very pretty
Clos Fourtet: Muted aromatics with loads of sweet dark fruit on the rewarding palate, but a little over-extracted for this taster. Nice acid keeps it fresh
Cos d’Estournel: I didn’t like this but not because it was bad. Controversial in style, but undeniably well-made. Spice and wood-dominated nose with beautiful attack and body, nearly over the top. Excellent finish with long, sweet tannin that is nicely integrated
De Fieuzal Rouge: With more richness this would be stellar. Sweet fruit, velvety tannin, long flowing finish. Ripe cab, through and through
Giscours: Pretty beastly Giscours that will be outstanding if the ripe, concentrated fruit fleshes up into the massive structure.
Grand Murailles: Classic St. Emilion balance and fruit. Tannin is a touch grippy but well integrated. Nice.
Gruaud Larose: Excellent nose, adequate acidity. Classic Gruaud with balance, ripeness and velvety tannin. Touch alcoholic finish, but not offensively so
L’Angelus: Spicy nose, backwards but delish palate. Long gorgeous finish with just a little angular tannin that should integrate. Slightly hot but tolerable
L’Arrosee: Lively and expansive, touch astringent. Should flesh out to be a very good l’Arrosee
L’Eglise Clinet: Had doubts from the nose, but wine is just fine. Tends towards more firm and masculine, but has good stuffing and decent balance
La Conseillante: 1st sample appeared cab franc heavy in nose and palate but was still ripe, sexy and full bodied with chocolate and coffee supporting. Finsihed long and velvety with just a hint of alcohol. 2nd sample (at chateau) was extraordinary, perhaps because it was served cooler. Blueberry/cassis/cherry nose was excellently laid out with fine balance and finesse. Long merlot finish with a load of ultra-ripe tannin
La Croix de Beaucaillou: Note: This is a 2nd vineyard, not a 2nd wine. Pretty but extracted nose is layered and very alluring. Palate is softer and lighter but is neither soft nor light. Very pretty
La Mission Haut Brion: racy fruit, hints of profundity to come. Nice acids lend freshness to concentrated classic La Miss palate. Pity to find so much heat but unsurprising at 14.7% - this was nearly outstanding
La Mission Haut Brion Blanc (was Laville HB): Rich, sweet, gorgeous Sauvignon Blanc nose with a ton of fruit and a lot of nuance. Also very good on the palate with lush fruit and excellent structure. Wonderful effort that is just a little tainted by alcohol or would have been outstanding.
La Pointe: Very pretty, solid merlot. More chocolate than fruit at the moment, but intensity says it will fill out. Finish is long, tannic and astringent but alcohol is in control and balance should level out to make this a very good wine
Lalande Borie: Light-hearted and playful with obvious fruit. Very classic cab franc profile with decent intensity. Finishes short but excellent for what it is. Fresh and clean
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc: Awesome nose, classy and full but very well balanced despite a touch of alcohol in the finish
Leoville Las Cases: Very pretty, super organized fruit and mineral, but ripe tannin is a little chunky and out of place in this long, richly-textured, finessed wine. Still very good, but maybe lacking in acidity
Les Forts de Latour: Concentrated and focused, most alcohol has been absorbed. Precise, full and complete
Malarctic La Graviere: Monster structure supported by awesome fruit and velvety ripe tannin. Excellent balance
Montlandrie: Remember this name. Small estate on the wrong side of the Castillon/St. Emilion border. Pretty nose with bright cherry and chocolate nose. Palate is solid merlot character with perfect acid/tannin/alcohol balance and a very sexy merlot finish. This isn’t the most serious wine but will be HUGE bang for the buck. Great juice
Pagodes de Cos: Classic bordeaux fruit, tobacco and granite. Exceptionally balanced if a touch alcoholic. Complex and delicious. Fabulous effort
Palmer: Ripe alcoholic merlot-esque nose. Backwards with alcohol featuring before full texture, tightly knit fruit. Full palate of fruit finishes a little dry but long and concentrated
Pauillac de Latour: What a damn shame we don’t get much of this in the US. Very Latour, if a touch simple. Awesome value
Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux: Beauty of a nose, open and nearly perfect. Palate is fresh and big, concentrated and consistent through long gorgeous finish. Very dense, very fine
Pichon Baron: Delish, touch red in profile but with excellent concentration and depth. Substantial tannin but well balanced and integrated. An excellent Baron
Reserve de la Comtesse: Ripe Pichon character – a proper 2nd wine. Pichon-lite in a ripe, lush lingering package.
Rol Valentin: Touch of heat but excellent ripeness and purity. An overachiever?
Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge: Ripe primary nose, fresh, forward, pretty body with nicely integrated sweet tannin and long finish
Ok/Good-ish (but):
Alter Ego du Palmer: Dusty but pretty cab nose of cherries and alcohol. Palate is tart red fruit, astringent with long alcohol in the finish
Batailley: Classic cab, touch astringent with excess tannin, but sweet enough to not offend
Bouscaut Blanc: Light, fresh but thin in character, easy pool drinking
Branaire Ducru: Firm, minerally palate. Lots of alcohol, but should flesh out
Brane Cantenac: Something almost unripe in tart red nose and palate with touches of green. Wine is essentially pleasant but far from perfect.
Brown Blanc: Solid Pessac, but back-heavy. Balance leans too far to alcohol in the finish
Canon: Alcohol stops just short of being a problem because the finish is so rich. Low acid leaves palate flabby, though full and lush
Cantelys – 2nd wine Smith Haut Lafitte: Quite a bit of heat, clumsy but pretty full. Fresh, sweet finish
Cap de Faugeres: Neither complex nor concentrated, but good drink
Carbonnieux Blanc: Classy but acid-dominated
Carillon de L’Angelus: Lovely St. Emilion character but alcohol is overwhelming. Woulda been great but now requires food. Very full for a 2nd wine
Carruades de Lafite: Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol – spoils what would have been a great Carruades
De Fieuzal Blanc: Floral, precise and dry, but intense, balanced and fresh
De Pez: Pretty good, but finish is astringent and hollow with gritty tannin
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc: Lacks intensity but otherwise ok
Domaine de Chevalier Rouge: Touch simple, but balanced and ripe with nice oak
Duhart Milon: Very masculine, astringent and alcoholic. Promising intensity on the palate but finishes very well, giving hope that fruit will fill out but alcohol will probably not come into balance
Faugeres: Massive extraction and fruit. Will score high with another taster
Fuque de Nenin: Light red merlot fruit is playful, palate is richer than expected. Wine is simple but fun drinking in fresh balance
Gazin: Controversial, but my sample was better than most. Somewhat one-dimensional, but lovely fruit, fresh feeling with dark pretty finish
Goulee: Almost a grenache-cherry nose w/dusty notes. Finishes slightly green but well-integrated with tannin and dusty cabernet fruit
Grand Puy Lacoste: Masculine, complete nose, ripe cab fruit but lacking density. Not poorly balanced but feels to be missing something
Haut Bages Liberal: Sweet cassis and green nose literally translated to palate. Good acid, fresh though a touch tart and grippy in tannic finish.
Haut Bailly: Concentrated nose but simple palate w/dark fruit & grippy ripe tannin
Haut Batailley: Dusty Napa cab, touch astringent with tart red fruit but darkens up in the finish which is long, spirited and pleasant
La Chapelle d’Ausone: Airy, hot nose expresses little but has hints of merlot promise. Concentrated palate has ample fruit, red and dark berries, well-meshed. Balance is tolerable despite heat.
La Chapelle de la Mission: Alcohol is just barely held in check by bright red and dark fruits. Light-medium body but soft and tasty
La Chapelle de Potensac: Simple but pleasant cabernet fruit in a solid effort. Balance is a touch firm and alcoholic but tannins are fine and sweet
La Couspade: Light on acid so feels flabby but otherwise impressive, pretty and rich
La Garde Blanc: Typical SB, but sweeter on the nose than palate. Deceptively light
La Garde Rouge: Built for American palate. Affable but very Cali
La Fleur de Bouard: Massive extraction and fruit. Will score high with another taster
La Fleur de Gay: Good acid and fleshy fruit, but not quite lush. Soft on the palate but shortish finish dominated by alcohol. 2nd sample was loaded with chocolate and better balanced than first with richer presence
La Tour du Pin: Tart red fruit with nice acid and very pretty, round palate. Finish falls apart leaving tannin and spirit
Larrivet Haut Brion Rouge: Airy, flowers and fruit nose. Open and fresh palate finishes with too much oak, super tannic
Lascombes: Muted nose, but sweet lush palate. Alcohol and tannin just a little out of place
Leoville Barton: Sports the new “classic Barton”, new-world and oak nose. Long, balanced with ample tannin and alcohol nicely wrapped up in oak and fruit
Lynch Bages: Showed the most hope and offered the biggest let-down. The most perfect nose which is unfulfilled on the palate. Lacks richness to fill out flawless balance of acid, texture, alcohol and tannin. Coulda been
Malescot St. Exupery: Dense cab nose is literal on palate but finish is more red fruits and a touch floral. Alcohol in check till the very end of the long tannic finish
Nenin: One dimensional, dark fruit is tasty but not serious. Finish is short on fruit, long on alcohol. Just for chugging.
Olivier Blanc: Silex-style nose, but lacks richness to be a great Pouilly Fume J
Olivier Rouge: V. good on palate but lacks acidity to bolster fruit and tannin balance
Pape Clement Blanc: Easy drink, fresh and light but could be better. Lacks richness, shows far too much alcohol
Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux: Very good but not great. Acid is a little low so palate is soft. Just a little unremarkable in the latter half of the mid-palate and finish. Good drinking, but not serious compared to the marvelous 2005.
Peby Faugeres: Massive extraction and fruit. Will score high with another taster
Petite Cheval Blanc: Good acid, nice fruit, but focused on high notes. Medium body, long chocolate cab franc finish. Ample tannin is soaked up by the fruit but alcohol is a problem when the wine finishes, though there was no sense of heat on the nose or palate
Pontet Canet: Dark, alcoholic cherry nose. Very middle-heavy and explosive after a slow start and quick transfer to the finish. Similarly the core of the finish is good but lacks a start and end
Potensac: Pretty, classic cab nose is ironic for the 40% merlot content. Grippy tannins held in check by expansive palate, back-heavy experience though
Rauzan Segla: “OOF”nose is awesome but palate is overwhelmed by massive structure. Lots of fruit here, but just not enough to believe wine will come into balance.
Rouget: Promising sweetness, richness, good balance but alcohol dominated
Simard: Orange peel and red fruit nose, zesty acidity. Innocuous, bordering on unripe
Smith Haut Lafite: Proper white bdx character, but dominated by heat
Talbot: Red fruit, playful. With more richness would have been excellent
Tronquoy Lalande: Woody nose w/ hint of alcohol. Fine poise, good balance but just a touch thin in character. If that fleshes out this will be very good
Tronquoy de Ste. Anne: Medicinal, alcoholic nose but decent palate is lush and pretty. Soft feel, round through respectable finish
Not good:
Beauregard: alcoholic nose, palate and finish. Pretty merlot clues, but not a good drink. Bitter tannins
Beychevelle: Ripe cab nose, good acid but stunted palate. Finishes short and alcoholic
Bouscaut Rouge: Almost unripe, red-fruit character. Lots of zip but bitter tannins
Brown Rouge: Very good fruit on the nose but hints of herbaceous character, not enough fruit on the palate, gritty tannin
Clos St. Martin: Extracted tannin-bomb. Low acid, would be good for blending
Dassault: I really wanted to like this but too short on fruit. Excellent structure is wasted. 2nd effort was better than first but still had holes in the middle. Not quite unpleasant, but falls apart in a ball of tannin
Dame de Montrose: Excellent build quality but thoroughly unexciting content
Domaine L’Eglise: Ripe nose but thin and dilute through the finish. 2nd sample did offer excellent merlot fruit in the nose but was simplistic and still didn’t fill up the structure
Figeac: Ultra herbaceous around sweet, full fruit. Wants to give hope but dominated by vegetal nature through the finish. Feels like someone chose finesse over power and did a really bad job
Fonbel: Attractive red fruits on the nose with alcohol but tart on the palate and not quite bitter through the finish
Haut Simard: Exceedingly astringent, tannic and alcoholic. Not recommended
La Cabanne: Dull nose, soft, pleasant but uninteresting palate. Flabby and hollow finish
La Croix: Firm, flat palate with good acid but lacks fruit or intensity to believe will emerge in time
La Dominique: Failed conclusively in two tastings. Can’t imagine what went wrong
La Petite Lion: Nose of stone and crushed aspirin. Nothing to like here
Lacoste Borie: Light on the palate, lacks low notes. Tart alcoholic finish
Larmande: Jammy/over the top. Rich, hot palate lacks acid, long on tannin. May never come into balance
Le Crock: Unusual, difficult to describe nose. Simple, tobacco and leather-heavy palate
Montrose: Overbearing alcoholic nose, minerally palate doesn’t deliver enough fruit to fulfill massive acid/tannin/alcohol
Moulin Riche: Almost respectable, but not quite. Steel and plastic nose, dirty (as in dirt) palate. Ultra grippy tannin
Moulin St. Georges: Nose screams quality but dark fruit palate is loaded down with alcohol. Structure and booze are too overbearing for simplistic fruit
Pavie/Pavie Macquin: P.O.S. zin-based bordojunk. Flabby and nasty. What was he thinking!?
Quinault L’Enclos: Alcoholic nose, light/tart palate not quite unripe. Missing low notes, thin finish
Troplong Mondot: Grey Poupon nose, palate starts off nicely but becomes the most tannic bastid ever. No 3 wines have enough combined fruit to match this level of tannin and alcohol
Judgement Reserved:
Carbonnieux Rouge: Too shut-down to assess
Clos du Marquis: Appears too simple for it’s mass. Clean, attractive and fresh – surely there has to be more to it on another day
D’Armailhac: 1st sample was back heavy, poorly balanced. 2nd example was floral, perfumed, fresh and lively with a nice, dark cabernet palate. Very lovely in fact
Franc Mayne: gobs of undeveloped, unfinished fruit, but still manages to be astringent. Hoped for 2nd sample but didn’t get there
La Chenade: was in unrecognizable, unassessable condition
La Petite L’Eglise: was in unrecognizable, unassessable condition
Lafite Rotschild: Certainly alcoholic, but difficult to otherwise assess. Poised structure, full-body but very difficult to score. Impossible to assess depth or quality of fruit but Lafite deserves the benefit of the doubt. Want to put this in the phenomenal category but just couldn’t get enough out of it.
Larcis Ducasse: Synthetic quality to nose and palate, difficult to figure
Le Bon Pasteur: Hints of VA? Light, tart palate completely dominated by alcohol. 2nd bottle saw classic merlot emerge in nose and palate but was still too thin. Still very alcoholic on the nose and finish, but fleshier than “not good” example. Fun drink if this is the representative sample, but thin
Leoville Poyferre: Metalic nose, overly structured. Tannin heavy, short on fruit. 2 samples like this. 3rd sample was dumb on the nose but everything Poyferre can be on the palate. Still tannin and structure heavy, the fruit emerged as a core of silky cabernet fruit, dark berries and chocolate. Though I doubt the tannin will ever fully integrate, am relieved to have found a decent sample of 3. Judgement reserved
Les Cruzelles: was in unrecognizable, unassessable condition
Pape Clement Rouge: Ripe nose but generic muted palate. Has presence to suggest more may be coming
Petite Village: Irony metallic nose, chocolate covered cherry core is light on the palate and nasty on the finish. This can’t be correct
Pichon Lalande: 1st sample was ostentatious on the nose but lighter on the palate than should be and finished very short. 2nd sample was vastly improved with ripe cherry and better balance. Was powerful without a trace of alcohol on the nose or seamless palate, but it was also served cooler and still finished short with a lot of alcohol and disjointed tannin
Santayme was in unrecognizable, unassessable condition
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