The delicious 2009 Alter Ego de Palmer (an equal part blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) could have been drunk when I tasted it. A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by smoky blackberry and black currant fruit notes, and a silky smooth, expansive, hedonistic, pleasure-filled wine that should drink well for a decade. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Only 37% of the production made it in to the 2009 Brane Cantenac (slightly lower than most properties because the fruit was so good). This is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.87 and finished alcohol of 13.2%. It is another offering that reveals no evidence of wood even though 70% new oak barrels were utilized. A dense plum/purple color is followed by a lovely perfume of flowers, boysenberries, black cherries, and black currants. Seamless in the mouth with stunning concentration, a seductive style, an exquisite Margaux delicacy, and levels of richness and intensity I have never before seen in Brane Cantenac, it should drink effortlessly for 30+ years. (Tasted four times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

A front-end loaded, richly fruity effort, the 2009 d’Arsac exhibits lots of cassis, plum, and cherry notes intermixed with hints of forest floor and spring flowers. It is a medium-bodied, ripe, already delicious wine to enjoy over the next 10+ years. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

Following the lustrous 2000 and 2005, the 2009 is another terrific effort from proprietor Emmanuel Cruse. Tiny yields of 18 hectoliters per hectare, 13.7% natural alcohol, and a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot have resulted in a wine boasting stunning minerality along with notes of flowers, blueberries, and black currants. Full-bodied with silky tannin, a tremendous opulence, and levels of density and richness never before seen at this estate, this brilliant d’Issan should age for three decades or more. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

This is the finest Giscours I have tasted in my professional career. Succulent and sexy with an inky/purple color, it offers sweet aromas of subtle barbecue smoke, graphite, blackberries, blueberries, and spring flowers. The tannins are remarkably sweet, substantial, and well-integrated, and the wine is full-bodied as well as voluptuously textured. It is a head-turning, exuberant, flashy effort that should drink well for 20-25 years. Bravo! (Tasted three times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

This inky/purple-hued Margaux reveals aromas and flavors of blackberries, cassis, espresso roast, graphite, and new oak. Full-bodied, layered, and rich as well as elegant and precise, it needs 5-6 years of cellaring, and should last for 25-30+ years. It is a very strong effort from Kirwan. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Midnight oil? Dense black purple to the rim, the 2009 Lascombes has enormous concentration, with loads of graphite, blackberry, and blueberry notes as well as hints of pen ink and truffle. The wine is super-intense, full-bodied, fleshy, and rich. This is another wine that will compete with the 2005, which is certainly the best Lascombes I have ever tasted. (Tasted three times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

It-s going to take a lot for this wine to equal or eclipse the 2005, but it is a different style of wine. While the 2005 is slightly more structured, with more aggressive tannin, this has more fat, texture, and more tactile magnetism going for it. I suppose the best thing is to own both. Opaque ruby/purple, with a beautiful nose of charcoal, forest floor, and black fruits, the wine hits the palate with great intensity, a sumptuous texture, yet brilliant precision and purity. This is a superb wine that should drink well for 20-25 years. (Tasted three times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Thirty-five percent of the crop went into the 2009 Chateau Margaux, composed of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The alcohol level of 13.3% is high, but not excessively so. A wine such as this is like the quintessence of terroir. A super, uber-concentrated perfume of creme de cassis and flowers cascades across the palate with a lightness of being despite massive concentration, a sumptuous personality, and an unctuous texture. I have never tasted a Chateau Margaux quite like this. It should be relatively drinkable at an early age, yet will last for 50-100 years. Oh my! (Tasted once.)

Paul Pontallier told me they had never had such levels of concentration and tannin as they did in 2009, exceeding anything they ever produced since the Mentzelopoulos family purchased this property in 1978. Pontallier believes 1996 is the closest stylistically, but 2009 is significantly more concentrated than that vintage. I do not disagree because tasting the second wine, Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, demonstrates that the 2009 is far superior to almost every Chateau Margaux made in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, except for the 1961 and 1953.

  Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Thirty-five percent of the crop went into the 2009 Chateau Margaux, composed of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The alcohol level of 13.3% is high, but not excessively so. A wine such as this is like the quintessence of terroir. A super, uber-concentrated perfume of creme de cassis and flowers cascades across the palate with a lightness of being despite massive concentration, a sumptuous personality, and an unctuous texture. I have never tasted a Chateau Margaux quite like this. It should be relatively drinkable at an early age, yet will last for 50-100 years. Oh my! (Tasted once.)

Paul Pontallier told me they had never had such levels of concentration and tannin as they did in 2009, exceeding anything they ever produced since the Mentzelopoulos family purchased this property in 1978. Pontallier believes 1996 is the closest stylistically, but 2009 is significantly more concentrated than that vintage. I do not disagree because tasting the second wine, Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, demonstrates that the 2009 is far superior to almost every Chateau Margaux made in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, except for the 1961 and 1953.

  Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  En Primeur Recommends

  Wine notes

The black/purple-colored 2009 Palmer exhibits a level of tannin that exceeds anything they have previously produced. The final blend is 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Petit Verdot, and the finished alcohol is 13.9%. It is hard to say this 2009 will turn out better than Palmer’s extraordinary 2005, but it certainly will be different in style given the alcohol level and power of this vintage. Pure blackberry and black currant fruit notes intermixed with hints of incense, graphite, and wood are followed by an opulent, thick, juicy wine with plenty of structure, and enormous concentration, mass, and length. Four to five years of patience is required, but this beauty should last for three decades or more. (Tasted once.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Beautiful floral-infused black fruits jump from the glass of this opaque ruby/purple-colored wine. Possibly richer, denser, and even more complete than the brilliant 2005 (although it is still too early to say that definitively), this is certainly a more opulent, succulent style of wine than even the 2005, which had surprising flesh for a wine from that vintage. The Right Bank consultant Stephane Derenoncourt has performed some magic here, as recent vintages attest, and the wines are often fairly priced as well. This full-bodied Prieure-Lichine should drink well for 20-25 years. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

A masculine-styled, dense purple-colored 2009, this cuvee offers up scents of charcoal, asphalt, black currants, incense, and crushed rocks. This deep, medium to full-bodied, well-made Margaux is broader, richer, and more substantial than usual, with more alcohol as well as substance. The tannins are ripe and well-integrated. This is a 30-year wine. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Composed of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, this large estate appears to have produced their greatest wine since the 1986. The alcohols came in at 13.9%, and the wine reveals extraordinary density, power, and richness as well as explosive fruit, and terrific acidity, intensity, and power. Yet it tastes like a crisp, delicate Margaux. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. This outstanding 2009 should age nicely for 35-40+ years. (Tasted two times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Tannic and backward, the 2009 has a promising nose of floral-infused black currants, licorice, and earth. Medium-bodied, restrained, and very pure, this mid-weight Margaux needs 2-5 years and will keep for several decades. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes