Having just had the 2000 Branon, which performed unbelievably well, this is definitely a wine for connoisseurs to seek out. The problem is that just under 500 cases were made, all from relatively old vines planted in the early sixties. This blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc is from a parcel of the Branon vineyard sandwiched between Haut-Bailly and Malartic Lagraviere in the heart of Leognan. The 2009 reveals smoky, earthy, barbecue notes intermixed with creme de cassis, blackberry liqueur, charcoal, and graphite. This hugely concentrated, intense, dense, full-bodied powerhouse possesses silky tannins, plenty of glycerin, an over the top, extravagantly rich mouthfeel, and a finish that lasts nearly 60 seconds. A potential legend in the making, this wine should drink well for 30+ years. (Tasted once.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Soft, silky, incredibly sexy notes of licorice, tobacco leaf, cigar tobacco, cassis, and cherries soar from the glass of this full-bodied Carbonnieux, which seems to have a few extra layers of fruit, glycerin, and depth than usual. The wine has great fruit, purity, and lots of personality. Give it a couple of years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25+ years. (Tasted twice.)

Bordeaux lost one of its favorite sons and a great gentleman, the former proprietor of Carbonnieux, Anthony Perrin. His son now manages the estate and must be proud of what he has achieved in 2009. 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The second wine, which used to be called Bahans Haut-Brion, is now Le Clarence Haut-Brion. The 2009 is a 7,000-case cuvee made of 46% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and a tiny dosage of Petit Verdot. The wine has a fabulous nose of incense, burning embers, forest floor, and black cherry liqueur. Fleshy, rich, full-bodied, but not over the top as the minerality and structure move in, this is a super-duper effort, and the greatest second wine made at Haut-Brion since the 1989 Bahans Haut-Brion. It should drink well for 20-25 years. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The finest wine I have tasted from this estate in my 30+ - year career, the 2009 (64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot) from this hallowed vineyard in Leognan was cropped at 45 hectoliters per hectare and came in at 13% alcohol. It reveals an extraordinary, intense, pure, quintessential Domaine de Chevalier style, including silky tannin, dense plum, black currant, black cherry, floral, and graphite notes, terrific acidity, sweet tannin, and a full-bodied mouthfeel with no weight, but admirable precision and freshness. Consultant Stephane Derenoncourt has coaxed out all the elegance and complexity at this great site. A future legend in the making, this could be the best Domaine de Chevalier produced over the last half century. It should drink well for 35-40 years. (Tasted four times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The finest I have ever tasted, this is an awesome De Fieuzal, with plenty of lead pencil shavings intermixed with blueberry, black raspberry, and sweet cherries. A touch of smoke also emerges from this opaque purple-colored wine. Full-bodied, with loads of glycerin, one can see the more generous, viscous nature of this vintage well-displayed, but also a terrific freshness and vibrancy. It should turn out to be a superb effort that drinks well for up to 30 years. (Tasted three times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

 The greatest Haut-Bailly ever made? One can’t speak enough of the job Veronique Sanders has done in 2009, allied with the owner, the American banker Robert Wilmers, who has given her carte blanche authority. Tiny yields have resulted in the most concentrated Haut-Bailly I have ever tasted. Eclipsing even the 2005, the 2009 (a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc) possesses 13.9% natural alcohol. Dense purple to the rim, it exhibits a precise, nuanced nose of mulberries, black cherries, black currants, graphite, and a singular floral component. A wine of profound intensity and full-bodied power, yet stunningly elegant, and never heavy or massive, it builds incrementally on the palate, and the finish lasts over 45 seconds. Remarkably, there is not a hard edge to be found in this beauty. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were harvested between October 7 and 14, which explains their phenolic maturity. The wine’s extraordinary freshness, elegance, and precision are nearly surreal. This tour de force should age brilliantly for 40+ years. (Tasted two times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

One of the best over-achieving, value-priced wines in Pessac-Leognan, Haut-Bergey’s vineyard enjoys a superb location near Malartic-Lagraviere and Domaine de Chevalier. Composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Cabernet Franc and a dollop of Petit Verdot, the opaque purple-hued 2009 reveals a big, exuberant nose of charcoal, black currants, sweet cherries, and graphite. Dense and full-bodied, with beautiful purity, texture, and length, it should drink well for 20+ years. (Tasted two times.) P.S. I also tasted the brilliant 2000 Haut-Bergey in March, 2010, and it was still a youngster in terms of its development 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

 Wine Advocate # 188. Apr 2010. Reviewer : Robert Parker. One of the best over-achieving, value-priced wines in Pessac-Leognan, Haut-Bergey’s vineyard enjoys a superb location near Malartic-Lagraviere and Domaine de Chevalier. Composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Cabernet Franc and a dollop of Petit Verdot, the opaque purple-hued 2009 reveals a big, exuberant nose of charcoal, black currants, sweet cherries, and graphite. Dense and full-bodied, with beautiful purity, texture, and length, it should drink well for 20+ years. (Tasted two times.) P.S. I also tasted the brilliant 2000 Haut-Bergey in March, 2010, and it was still a youngster in terms of its development. Drink: 2010 - 2030.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

There are 10,500 cases of the 2009 Haut-Brion, from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. For technicians, the highest ever natural alcohol, 14.3%, was achieved, with a pH of 3.9, which is about the same as the 1989 and 1990, as well as 1959. This is the kind of wine to send chills even up my spine, and I have been tasting here for nearly 30 years. An extraordinary nose of plum, blueberry, raspberry, crushed rock, and that intriguing floral as well as unsmoked cigar tobacco note (a classic sign of this terroir) is followed by a wine of creamy unctuosity reminiscent of 1989, but there is a freshness, vibrancy and precision that is historic and possibly unprecedented. Some graphite emerges as the wine sits in the glass, but the wine is very thick while at the same time precise and elegant. This is the quintessential expression of one of the greatest wine terroirs of the world. To reiterate, the good news is that there are going to be 10,500 cases of Haut-Brion in 2009, which is about 1,500 more cases than the 9,000 produced in 2005. This wine will probably need 7-8 years of cellaring when released and evolve as well as the 1959 has (which is still a perfect wine today), so we’re realistically talking 50-75 years when stored in a cool cellar. (Tasted once.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

There are 10,500 cases of the 2009 Haut-Brion, from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. For technicians, the highest ever natural alcohol, 14.3%, was achieved, with a pH of 3.9, which is about the same as the 1989 and 1990, as well as 1959. This is the kind of wine to send chills even up my spine, and I have been tasting here for nearly 30 years. An extraordinary nose of plum, blueberry, raspberry, crushed rock, and that intriguing floral as well as unsmoked cigar tobacco note (a classic sign of this terroir) is followed by a wine of creamy unctuosity reminiscent of 1989, but there is a freshness, vibrancy and precision that is historic and possibly unprecedented. Some graphite emerges as the wine sits in the glass, but the wine is very thick while at the same time precise and elegant. This is the quintessential expression of one of the greatest wine terroirs of the world. To reiterate, the good news is that there are going to be 10,500 cases of Haut-Brion in 2009, which is about 1,500 more cases than the 9,000 produced in 2005. This wine will probably need 7-8 years of cellaring when released and evolve as well as the 1959 has (which is still a perfect wine today), so we’re realistically talking 50-75 years when stored in a cool cellar. (Tasted once.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

La Mission Haut-Brion has made so many great wines over the last 100 years, it would be stupid to say the 2009 somehow exceeds this estate-s great classics, such as 1929, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, or 2005. Certainly it will take its place in the pantheon of all the great La Mission Haut-Brions ever made. There are 6,000 cases of it, made from a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. The natural alcohol hit 14.7%, which far exceeds the perfect wines of 1982, 1989 and 1990. Opaque purple in color, with an extraordinary nose of blueberry liqueur intermixed with camphor, charcoal, hints of burning embers and truffles, and loads of black berry and black currant fruit, the wine has sublime concentration and purity, a finish that goes well past 60 seconds, and not a hard edge to be found in this sumptuous, almost over-the-top, full-bodied wine of enormous power and massive density and richness. An immortal effort, it should drink well for 50-100 years! (Tasted once.)

Harvest started around September 9 at La Mission Haut-Brion, and finished almost a month later, on October 6. To get an idea of just how extraordinary all the wines from the Dillon family are in 2009, just consider how phenomenal the second wines are. 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Juicy red currant with subtle smoked herbs, truffle, and spice box jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored wine. Possessing silky tannins, seductive, ripe fruit with an opulent texture and no hard edges, but serious tannin lurking behind the wealth of fruit and glycerin, this is another classic Pessac-Leognan that can be drunk young or cellared for 20-25 years. (Tasted three times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The best wine I have ever tasted from this estate, the oak seems to have been subdued, or maybe it is just that the fruit level is kicked up so high that the oak is not noticeable. That is certainly a characteristic of 2009. Dense purple in color, with hints of graphite, cigar box, creme de cassis, and subtle barbecue smoke, the wine is loaded, rich, opulent, medium to full-bodied, and a beautiful model of a wine that makes a few concessions to the modern style of Bordeaux but retains its Graves personality totally intact. It should drink well for 20-25 years. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

This ethereal, lighter-styled 2009 (no doubt because of the high Cabernet Franc content) is somewhat difficult to fully evaluate at this stage, but it exhibits beautifully sweet, pure, blue and red fruits (raspberries) in a medium-bodied format. The wine is sublime in its softness, finesse, and delicacy. It should put on weight and perform even better in a year or two, and should drink nicely for 15+ years. (Tasted three times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Progress has been ongoing at this vineyard, but proprietor Alexandre Bonnie has hit the proverbial home runs in 2009 with both his red and white wines. The best Malartic Lagraviere I have ever tasted, the 2009 is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Cropped at a low 32 hectoliters per hectare, with a modest (by the standards of this vintage) 13.5% alcohol, the wine-s opaque purple color is accompanied by an unctuous texture, extraordinary elegance, lots of licorice, graphite, blueberry, black raspberry, and cherry characteristics, full body, terrific purity and length, and good acidity. This 2009 should easily evolve for 25-30+ years. Bravo! (Tasted four times.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

This perennial underachiever performed well above my expectations, and I am prepared to say this is the best Olivier I have ever tasted. Dense ruby/purple, with sweet, unsmoked cigar tobacco intermixed with graphite, black currants, cherries, and spice, it is medium to full-bodied, fleshy, beautifully textured, and long. It should drink well for 20 or more years. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Pape Clement is not as dense or provocative as the 2005, but it is a worthy competitor. Tighter and more muscular than the 2005, the 2009 reveals an opaque purple color along with notes of graphite, blueberries, and blackberries, stunning richness, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and tremendous length and intensity. Some patience will be required, and I do not believe this effort will achieve the near perfection of the 2005, but it is another winner in this extraordinary vintage. Yields were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine finished around 13.5% alcohol. (Tasted four times.)

Historically one of the oldest vineyards in Bordeaux (having once been owned by Pope Clement, who gets more credit for what he did in Chateauneuf du Pape than in Graves), this 700-year old Pessac vineyard has turned out another profound wine under the administration of proprietor Bernard Magrez.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

One can’t say enough about what proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard have accomplished at this estate since 1990. Regrettably, I am old enough to remember how horrible the wines were before the Cathiards purchased the property. They have fashioned one of the most consistently outstanding wines, both white and red, over the last two decades, and their 2009 probably eclipses any previous performance. An opaque purple color is followed by an explosive nose of graphite, black currants, licorice, incense, and a hint of black tea. The wine hits the palate with extraordinary density, unctuosity, and richness, yet it never comes across as heavy or overbearing. Deep and full-bodied with sensational concentration as well as remarkable purity and precision, this brilliant wine possesses the high, but sweet tannins that are a hallmark of the vintage, and exceptional delicacy allied to massive power and richness ... a rare combination indeed. This prodigious effort should drink well for 30-40 years. Bravo! (Tasted five times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes