Yet Another 2009 Bordeaux Review

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
Jancis Robinson talks about 2009 Bordeaux...

In all my years of immersion in tasting bordeaux en primeur, I have never written the word Napa so often in my tasting notes. Come to think of it, I had never written the word Napa at all before when trying to describe the latest vintage shown off to wine media and trade in Bordeaux every spring. Nor have I ever had so much fun tasting young bordeaux as I did the week before last. Perhaps these two phenomena are related.

The 2009 vintage was the ripest Bordeaux has ever known. On the usually less potent left bank of the Gironde, both first-growth Chteau Haut-Brion and wannabe first-growth Chteau Cos dEstournel admitted to producing wines of more than 14 per cent alcohol, verging on California levels. Rather than struggling with pale, thin wines and sky-high acidities, some 6,000 tasters who converged on Bordeaux this year a record number found themselves occasionally combating overripeness and excessive alcohol levels.
Click to expand...

Bordeaux 2009

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:
Yet Another 2009 Bordeaux Review
Jancis Robinson talks about 2009 Bordeaux...

In all my years of immersion in tasting bordeaux en primeur, I have never written the word Napa so often in my tasting notes. Come to think of it, I had never written the word Napa at all before when trying to describe the latest vintage shown off to wine media and trade in Bordeaux every spring. Nor have I ever had so much fun tasting young bordeaux as I did the week before last. Perhaps these two phenomena are related.

The 2009 vintage was the ripest Bordeaux has ever known. On the usually less potent left bank of the Gironde, both first-growth Chteau Haut-Brion and wannabe first-growth Chteau Cos dEstournel admitted to producing wines of more than 14 per cent alcohol, verging on California levels. Rather than struggling with pale, thin wines and sky-high acidities, some 6,000 tasters who converged on Bordeaux this year a record number found themselves occasionally combating overripeness and excessive alcohol levels.
Click to expand...

Bordeaux 2009

. . . . . Pete
Click to expand...

Makes it an even easier decision than usual to "Pass"...
 
Gilman is back from Bordeaux, I am expecting a juicy write-up. Can't wait. He loved a number of things, but noted great inconsistency.
 
Another review, this one by John Kapon, Acker Merrall & Condit...

2009 is a great vintage, certainly on the playing field of 2000 and 2005, but unique with its own style and personality. The acidity is noteworthy, there is excellent fruit, the wines are fresh, and they crackle with classic qualities. Some wines will certainly exceed what they achieved in 2005 or 2000, like VCC, or Palmer, or...but I digress. The acidity makes this vintage stand out, and with acidity comes ageability. There is therefore great promise in 2009.
Click to expand...

. . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Another review, this one by John Kapon, Acker Merrall & Condit...

2009 is a great vintage, certainly on the playing field of 2000 and 2005, but unique with its own style and personality. The acidity is noteworthy, there is excellent fruit, the wines are fresh, and they crackle with classic qualities. Some wines will certainly exceed what they achieved in 2005 or 2000, like VCC, or Palmer, or...but I digress. The acidity makes this vintage stand out, and with acidity comes ageability. There is therefore great promise in 2009.
Click to expand...

. . . . Pete
Click to expand...
It's always great and promising when you have lots to sell.
 
These 2009 Bordeaux are gonna hafta be pretty special if they're meant to impress a guy who's drank at least 8 bottles of 1945 Romanee-Conti.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
These 2009 Bordeaux are gonna hafta be pretty special if they're meant to impress a guy who's drank at least 8 bottles of 1945 Romanee-Conti.
Click to expand...
Maybe they're loaded with lumber?

(The real question is how do they compare to the '29 Ponsot Clos de la Roche?)
 
I've found the British brokers slightly better in this respect - some notes are a bit more breathless than others (Gauntley's, Farr's both come to mind), but Seckford's and BBR have always been decipherable; it's fairly easy to tell when they're not so keen on a wine or vintage.
 
originally posted by John Ritchie:
with every bottle more authentic than the previous, no doubt.
Click to expand...

Someday - maybe already - the lumber crew will have, all by themselves, drank more of these wines than were bottled to begin with.
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

And then there's Robert Parker...

"it may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.
Click to expand...

. . . . . . Pete
Click to expand...

That matches Jancis' summary quoted in the first post almost exactly. Have the two of them ever agreed on something like this before?
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
These 2009 Bordeaux are gonna hafta be pretty special if they're meant to impress a guy who's drank at least 8 bottles of 1945 Romanee-Conti.
Click to expand...

no community notes. Odd.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top