Made in a very different style for this estate, the 2009 is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon (the highest I have ever seen here), 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, and achieved 13.8% natural alcohol. It is a big, rich, tannic, structured, dense ruby/purple-tinged wine offering a sweet kiss of creme de cassis, loamy soil, and spice box. Remarkably, despite the use of 100% new oak because of the 2009's power and intensity, there is not a hint of wood in either the aromatic or flavor profile. Never that showy from cask, this traditionally made St.-Estephe should be forgotten for 10-15 years, and drunk over the following 40-50 years. My rating is very conservative, and I expect it to rise considerably as this wine comes out of its infancy. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The 2009 Cos d’Estournel is one of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted ... in the world! An extraordinary effort I tasted on two separate occasions, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with a dollop of Cabernet Franc has a whopping 14.5% alcohol, but a remarkably normal pH of 3.69. Kudos to Jean-Guillaume Prats and owner Michel Reybier for this amazing wine made from yields of 33 hectoliters per hectare. It will be a legendary claret that should last for 50-60 years. A black/purple color is accompanied by aromas of graphite, ink, creme de cassis, blackberries, cedar, and incense. Full-bodied and unctuously textured, with an ethereal personality, tons of nuances, and a burgeoning complexity, it is an enormously well-endowed, fresh, perfectly balanced tour de force in winemaking. As mentioned above, it should drink well for 50-60 years. This wine possesses this vintage’s classic characteristics of enormous power, massive fruit, and extraordinary freshness and precision - largely unprecedented, particularly for Cabernet-based wines in the Medoc. (Tasted two times.)

   Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Much more narrowly defined than most 2009s, the opaque purple-colored Cos Labory reveals some jagged, raspy tannins. Although it appears to have plenty of concentration, its disjointedness is worrisome. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The second wine, the 2009 La Dame de Montrose, is an amazing blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Voluptuously textured, super juicy, and sexy with intense blue and black fruits, decent acids, and silky tannin, this 2009 is already irresistible, and should keep for 10-15+ years. (Tasted once.)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Perhaps the finest Lafon Rochet ever made, the purity, freshness, and sweet, rich, blueberry and boysenberry fruit and hint of pen ink that are found in this opaque purple-colored wine are impressive. Massive in the mouth, with freshness, delineation, and sweet tannin, it is a major sleeper of the vintage that should last for 25+ years. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

1989 and 1990 deja vu all over again? If you think the 2003 Montrose (which merited 100 points) was powerful (13.2% alcohol), keep in mind that the 2009 Montrose came in at 13.7% alcohol. There is no sense of hotness, only extraordinary transparency and precision, allied to massive fruit intensity. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this super-concentrated claret possesses a style reminiscent of the sumptuous 1990 combined with the structure of the 1989. The color is an opaque purple, the pH is a relatively normal 3.7, and the finish is endless. The flavor profile bursts with black currant, blackberry, and boysenberry fruit intertwined with hints of spring flowers and crushed rocks. Huge body, sweet tannin, and wonderful freshness make for one of the all-time great wines ever produced at Montrose. I hope to be drinking this wine with great pleasure before the Man comes for me. Kudos to Jean-Bernard Delmas. (Tasted two times.)  

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

A sleeper of the vintage and the best Les Ormes de Pez made in decades, this opaque purple-hued 2009 offers up pure creme de cassis fruit intermixed with hints of charcoal, smoke, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied and pure with good freshness as well as a soft, layered mouthfeel, it will offer delicious drinking over the next 10-15 years. (Tasted three times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The 2009 Les Pagodes de Cos is also a remarkable offering. Composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, it tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol, and is better than most Cos d’Estournel vintages produced in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. It is a full-bodied, opulently concentrated wine of amazing richness, density, and intensity. As with the grand vin, the harvest began on September 26 and finished on October 10. This wine possesses this vintage’s classic characteristics of enormous power, massive fruit, and extraordinary freshness and precision - largely unprecedented, particularly for Cabernet-based wines in the Medoc. (Tasted once.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

Like many of the top 2009s, Phelan-Segur is a huge, full-bodied effort with massive fruit as well as good freshness, precision, and elegance. This is all rather paradoxical given previous great vintages that either lean toward cooler vintage characteristics or hot ones. This 2009 possesses both styles. It exhibits lots of mulberry, boysenberry, and crushed, jammy black fruits, abundant tannin, medium to full body, an opulent mouthfeel, and enough structure to evolve for two decades or more. This is a sleeper of the vintage. (Tasted two times.) 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes

The 2009 Tronquoy Lalande (a blend of 51% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot) boasts a dense purple color along with a beautiful bouquet of boysenberries, spring flowers, black currants, and a hint of ink, a full-bodied, supple, opulent mouthfeel, and a long finish. It should drink nicely for 10-15 years. (Tasted two times.)

This estate, which was acquired by the international telecommunications giant, the French-based Martin Bouygues, has produced their finest wines to date under the guidance of Jean-Bernard Delmas (who made every Haut-Brion between 1961 and 2003). Delmas, who was coaxed out of retirement to apply his enviable talents in St.-Estephe, is a master at attaining sweet tannins, which is always a challenge in this northern appellation. 

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188)

  Wine notes