The cases bought en primeur are being delivered and can be calmly tasted and evaluated at home. Do we agree that this is the greatest of all recent vintages?
yes but so was burg north rhone and germany 09s in my opinion v great and will all unfold to be one of the greatest vintages in europe in the last 50 years this i have stated several times .
The 10s great as well more unique !wild ! several outstanding terroir driven huge .
Two opposite sides of the same coin in the different styles so we have all the extremes in 2 one after the other vintages and v v rare in this combo !
BUT I still think the bordeaux 09 10 are both now over priced for the mkt .
I guess that many of us will need a little longer to get around to opening these wines. Iāve had Poujeaux so far, and it was my favourite of the c10 vintages Iāve had from there. Several other bottles are winking at me. However, Iāve also had several non-primeur '09 Bordeaux over the last couple of years, and I do actually have a feeling that it may be the ābestā (for the Left Bank).
By way of a hypothesis as to why, my theory begins with flagging that the weather across the major French regions was unusually homogenous in '09. To me, the long warm-to-hot season suited varieties like Cabernet, which have tannins that take longer to ripen and which usually retain high acidity. Theyāre often left awkward in some respects, but in '09 have been ripened to glorious indulgence, whilst retaining just enough acidity. (And Iām not just talking about style by the way - the core flavours, the concentration and the structural balance have come together to create that special sense of āenergyā in the vintageās wines.)
The same weather gave Burgundy a merely āvery goodā vintage, with a lot of wines too low-acid, so dull and jammy. Going further in the same direction, everything Iāve had at home from the southern Rhone has disappointed - the weather being too consistently hot for Grenache to become anything but over-ripe. To me thatās further proof of just how critical vintage can be - I found true ābest vintageā magic to be widely on show there in 2007 for example.
So far, I have opened Capbern Gasqueton, Chasse Spleen, Montlandrie, Croix de Beaucaillou and Ormes de Pez, and I see 2009 as a top vintage in the style of 1990. The wines are very ripe and quite high in alcohol (much higher than 1990). They will be lovely wines in the future, even without food.
As an example, I looked at Chasse Spleen which I buy regularly and the acholhol level has increased from 13% for the 2000 vintage to 13.5% for the 2005 vintage to 14% for the 2009. As a rule, I donāt normally buy 14% wines, purely due to the effect that wine seems to have on me when it reaches this figure.
The 2009s are balanced, but it is a different kind of balance. Rather like two elephants on a see-saw.
Although I like the 2009s a lot, I think that people who prefer their Bordeaux in a classic style will prefer 2005.
[QUOTE=Graeme Farr, Stanhope;39487]The 2009s are balanced, but it is a different kind of balance. Rather like two elephants on a see-saw.
[/QUOTE]
I love this simile! Great defense of 2009.
I love 2009 Bordeaux and I think it may be the only vintage I encounter that will give so much pleasure when tasted young yet is likely to have an extremely long life. I also think it may well prove to be the most homogenous vintage I encounter - right down to quite humble wines that are already delicious. Heavens, if I end up recommending a Castel 2009 as a wine of the week, the vintage must be truly exceptionalā¦
I agree that I see a lot of parallels with 1990, which I also loved, indeed still love, though the 2009s seem to have more concentration and structure.
I should also say that I love 2010 Bordeaux, but I think that although it is more glamorous than most vintages, it is not quite so exceptional in style as the 2009. I loved 2005s too but wouldnāt dream of opening anything serious for a while, whereas some 2000s are already pleasure to drink.
But I suspect there will be a school of purists who may find the ripest 2009s just a bit too unlike the claret model and too āNew Worldā-like for their taste.
and some of the alc levels in 09 bordeaux are getting closer to port !!!
Count me in as those who quite love what Iāve tasted of 2009 Bordeaux ā less so on the Right bank than Left, some of which have, as usual, too much alcohol and extraction and are not helped by the vintage. But the left bank Cabernet based wines are often exceptional ā theyāre very ripe concentrated wines, but with lots of tannins and decent acidity, and a suprising lightness to them. If theyāre elephants then theyāre dancing on their tiptoes.
Iāve been surprised by how much I often like the Cabernet based wines, and as a counterpoint have not been that impressed with the 2009 burgundies Iāve had which by contrast are ripe and broad, but seem a bit hollow and dry on the finish ā unlike 2009 Bordeaux.
Robert Bottone, Winchester
This thread died a quick death. Perhaps now is the time to attempt the kiss of life.
maybe modern bordeaux is a little out of fashion just of late !
I have had a couple of 2009s, Duhart-Milon and Rauzan-Segla, both were really delicious and ready to drink. This seems to be a vintage where wines can be tackled quite early. I wonder if the vintage has exceeded the already high expectations. Anybody else been opening 2009s?
I have enjoyed most of the 09s so far tasted. I have particularly enjoyed a few bottles of Domaine De Chavellier and a sample of Saint Pierre and a case of Caronne St Gemme. I have also had some Carbonnieux, Langoa Barton and Sociando Mallet and Phelan Segur recently which I enjoyed slightly less, but were still drinking nicely. I have so far found most better 05s too tannic. I did enjoy some Fonbel 05 but recent bottles have been part their best. I have quite enjoyed some Beinfaisance 05 from magnum and Grand Puy Ducasse 05. Slightly disappointed by Langoa Barton 05 but may be drinking it too soon. I went to a tasting of 2010s and thought the better wines also needed more time. However, I have enjoyed a case of Senejac, Chenade and Coronne St Gemme (but thought that could do with a little more time)
It so often seems to be my lot in life, but may I offer a dissenting view?
Back when the '09s were first released, I attended a tasting of a large number of āpetits chateauxā from this new ābenchmarkā vintage, presented by a Bordeaux maven (whose name escapes me at the moment). One wine after another, I found the wines hot, over-ripe, bloated, loud and joyless. Scratching my head, I found myself thinking āIf I want California, Iāll buy California.ā Then, suddenly, a wine I rather liked! And a couple of bottles later, another! And then, double-checking, realized that the only two wines I liked were the only two '08s in the lineup. Subsequent encounters with classified growths at trade tastings did nothing to change my view.
Then in 2019, Jancis awarded a āwowā 18.5 pts. to the ā09 Larrivet Haut-Brion, and I discovered that a local store had it available for $55. Well, itās been 10 years, I thought, and Pessac-Leognan tends to be my favorite Bordeaux appellation, so I bought a few bottles. And I gottaā say, I still just donāt get it; I find it bold and dense and impressive, but more about being āloudā that having something truly captivating to say. (And I still like the '08 better ā which only cost me $25 en primeur.)
I may be the only one in āwinedom,ā but Iāve just never understood the hype around that vintage.
(FWIW, I had a very different opinion of the 2010s ā but didnāt have the money to pay those prices when they were released, so have no information beyond encounters at tastings.)
Thanks Bob, I like a dissenting voice. I must say I thought the 2009 Duhart Milon was delicous and interesting and would be surprised if you didnāt like that wine even if it is a bit bold. Iām pleased you like the 2008s as I bought Cos, Mouton and Latour that year. I think itās the last year I could afford a few first growths. What are your favourite earlier vintages?
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Well, you need to understand that while I have a reasonably large collection (i.e. inexplicably huge to many of my friends, but probably relatively modest in this crowd), my interests are broad and varied, and so Iāve never bought too extensively or too deeply in Bordeaux alone. Iām also very quality/price ratio conscious, so always looking for bargains (so no first growths or anything approaching them).
The one exception to that would be 2000, when I was in a better than usual financial position for the āGOAT vintageā at en primeur time. I still have several of those kicking around, and they have never, ever disappointed; even though they may be getting old and gray, I dread the time coming when I drink the last one. I also bought a fair number of '05s, and feel almost the same (no disappointments, but not quite the profundity of '00 ā at least not yet, and they do seem to be on a slower curve). Otherwise, I bought some ā04 (for value, but their early promise did not quite seem to be fulfilled as time went on) and ā08 (by all accounts at the time a "drinkersā" rather than a "collectorsā" vintage, with which I would still concur). Same with '14 (which Iām just starting to get into) ā but since then only spotty purchases here and there, while Iāve turned more of my attention to other areas.
And I still have a bottle or two of '95, '96 and '98 hanging aroundā¦
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Viz Bobās disappointment, it would seem that heās just āone of the puristsā forecast by JR in 2012!
So I donāt see you, Bob, as having a ādissenting viewā, just reflecting a difference in palate, I guess.
Hi Bob,
Just tasted Fonroque 2000. Very, very good and no hurry at all.
I feel vindicated! 
Thanks Bob. Which 95s and 6s are you enjoying? Iāve been drinking 96 Lafon Rochet of which about half have been spectacularly good, the others rather angular. Iāve been reading that 95s are still quite tannic; have you found that to be true?
Fun coincidence ā my last remaining bottle of '95 is Lafon Rochet! Iāve always found them to be, if not one of the very best classified Bordeaux, at least of consistent quality, reliability, and good value. Still drinking great in 2018! My last remaining bottle of '96 is Haut-Batailley; itās been surprisingly long since I last opened one of those, and I may need to correct that and say goodbye soon, as my notes indicate it was starting to show potentially troublesome signs. (Thought I still had a bottle of '96 Lagrange St.-Julien, but apparently notā¦) And my last bottle of '98 is Giscours (who did notably well in a difficult left-bank vintage), an airy, open, somewhat delicate but simply lovely wine when last drunk four years ago.
(Iāve also got some '99, '01 and '03 Sauternes, but thatās a different topicā¦)