2009 Bordeaux Wine Vintage Report and Buying Guide with Tasting Notes, Reviews and Ratings and producer comments for the best 2009 St. Emilion Bordeaux> Wines from the appellation. These 2009 St. Emilion wines were tasted in barrel in Bordeaux, June 2010.
2009 St. EmilionBordeaux wine tasting notes, reviews and ratings for 2009 St. Emilion.
2009 Angelus is opaque. Ripe dark berries, oak, licorice, minerals, and black raspberry aromas pop from the glass. This fleshy, flashy, sensuous, thick wine coats your palate with rich, ripe dark berries. Hubert de Bouard thinks the 2009 is a better wine than 2005. I do not agree. But the 09 is a stunning wine. 97-98 Pts
2009 Les Asteries starts off with licorice, minerals, plums, and coffee. This powerful, mineral driven wine finishes with crushed stone and dark berry flavors. 90-92 Pts
2009 Ausone offers crushed stone, smoke, fennel, and black with blue fruits in the nose. Full bodied and supple, this rich, silky, voluptuous wine, produced from 55% cabernet franc and 45% merlot, ends with sweet plums, minerals, and dark berries. 96-98 Pts
2009 Chapelle d’Ausone, with its mineral, smoke, and mixed berry nose, comes across as a mini version of its big brother, Ausone. 91-93 Pts
2009 Barde Haut is deeply colored, with floral, licorice, cherry, and dark berry aromas. Silky textured, it ends with sweet, dark berry flavors. 91-93 Pts
2009 Beau-Sejour Becot is a deeply colored wine filled with the aromas of minerals, ripe blackberries, licorice, and chocolate. This full bodied, opulent, round textured, ripe wine has a long, chocolate covered black cherry finish with hints of licorice. 92-94 Pts
2009 Beausejour Duffau-Lagreosse is no longer a one hit wonder. 1990 was the last time this stunning terroir produced a must have wine, but the 2009 is the real deal. Thanks to the assistance of St. Emilion’s dynamic duo, Stephane Derenoncourt and Nicholas Thienpont, things have officially turned around at Beausejour Duffau. Inky colored, with intense flavors of minerals, licorice, and jammy dark fruits, this wine stains your palate. Decadently textured, with freshness and length, this serious wine ends with licorice, chocolate covered black cherries, and plums. One of the top wines from St. Emilion in 2009. 96-98 Pts
2009 Beausejour Montagne 1901, produced from vines planted in 1901, is stuffed with jammy berries, licorice, and spice. Not much of this wine is produced, but it’s worth seeking out because it sells for a song.
2009 Belair-Monange has a perfume of chocolate covered black raspberries, licorice, flowers, and minerals. Medium/full bodied with supple textures, the wine finishes with black cherry and licorice notes. 92-95 Pts
2009 Bellevue comes from recently acquired property across the street from Angelus. Hubert de Bouard thinks the terroir is as good as much of the Angelus terroir. if not better. The inky colored wine, with its potent black raspberry, licorice, floral, and stone aromas, is enticing. Made from 99% merlot, it is full bodied, concentrated, and opulent. Low in acidity, the wine fills your mouth with dark berry flavors. 93-95 Pts
2009 Bellevue Mondotte is inky black. Blackberry, blueberry, spice rack, jam, smoke, and stone quarry aromas waft from the glass. Thick and dense, and filled with rich, round, concentrated layers of lush fruit, this intense wine has the texture of crushed velvet and silk, and a powerful, jammy berry finish. 96-98 Pts
2009 Berliquet comes from a 9 hectare vineyard of clay, rocky chalk, and limestone soils. The vineyard is planted at 6,000 vines/ha with an average age of 40 years. Net yields in 2009 were only 19hls/ha. For the first time the property employed laser optical sorting, a practice that will continue. Malo took place in barrels, with subsequent aging on the lees for six months. Plans call for the wine to be aged for 15 months in 50% new and 50% one year old barrels. Produced from 73% merlot, 25% cabernet franc, and 2% cabernet sauvignon, the wine offers supple textures and round tannins, and dark berries with hints of licorice in the finish. The participation of Stephane Derenoncourt and Nicolas Thienpont, coupled with their spare no expense attitude, makes this a property to watch out for. 89-91 Pts
2009 Cadet Bon is earthy, filled with stone, dark fruit, and jammy strawberry flavors. Produced from 85% merlot, this fleshy wine should drink well early. 87-89 Pts
2009 Canon is a dark ruby offering whose mineral, floral, dark raspberry, spice, and licorice aromatics pair well with a mouthful of intense, silky, sweet berries. The wine has purity and freshness, and finishes with flavors of plums, spice, and licorice. Canon now includes some fruit from the replanting done in 1998. New plantings are of cabernet franc vines. The vineyards are currently 25% cabernet franc. Over time they will increase to 35%. 93-95 Pts
2009 Canon La Gaffeliere was produced using as much of a bio dynamic approach as possible. Herbicides, pesticides, or insecticides are never applied. Fermentation of the uncrushed berries takes place in temperature controlled oak tanks, punctuated by regular pneumatic pigeages. Malolactic is carried out in 100% new barrels from eight different cooperages. The full bodied wine shows minerals, flowers, spice, coffee, leaves, plums, round tannins, berries, and stone in the finish. 92-94 Pts
2009 Le Carre has caramel, dark berry, licorice, and coffee aromas. This full bodied wine ends with chocolate covered dark berries, licorice, and plums. 91-93 Pts
2009 Cheval Blanc is on fire in this vintage. Produced from 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc, a high percentage of merlot for the chateau, the wine explodes with the intense aromas of jammy black raspberries, flowers, spice, and incense. Powerful, ripe, sweet, velvet textured, and perfectly balanced, this opulent, deep wine finishes with endless waves of spicy berries. This wine personifies decadence, elegance, and power. 96-99 Pts
2009 Le Petit Cheval, from 65% cabernet franc and the remainder merlot, is a medium bodied wine filled with silky black raspberry and boysenberry flavors. 90-92 Pts
2009 Clos Dubreuil is stuffed with aromas of black raspberries, limestone, dark cherries, and espresso beans. Full bodied with rich, supple textures, the 2009 is a major improvement over previous vintages. The wine is concentrated with jammy berry, plum, and chocolate flavors. 92-94 Pts
2009 Clos des Jacobins has a nose filled with mixed berries, anise, smoke, espresso, and fresh herbs. Full bodied, with ample pit fruit to fill your mouth into the licorice tinted finish. Hubert Bouard consults for the property. 91-93 Pts
2009 Clos Fourtet is dark ruby. Filled with jammy blackberry and licorice scents, this powerful, fleshy wine ends with a silky, black fruit finish. 94-96 Pts
2009 Clos de l’Oratoire is a blend of 90% merlot, 5% cabernet franc, and 5% cabernet sauvignon. Owner Stephan Neipperg works the vineyards with a biodynamic approach. No herbicides, pesticides, or insecticides allowed. Yields were only 28 hls per ha, in part because of the May hailstorm. Smoke, licorice, coffee, and blackberry scents are coupled with supple textures in the mouth. The wine finishes with dark cherries and blackberry jam. 90-92
2009 Clos La Madeleine offers intense minerality, along with dark berries, in its nose. This fleshy wine is the best example from this property I remember tasting. Situated just outside the village next to Belair-Monange, the vineyard is planted on limestone based soils. The cepage is 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus consults for the winery, and his influence shows. 89-92 Pts
2009 Clos St. Martin is the smallest classified wine in the Bordeaux appellation. It comes from a 1.33 hectare vineyard planted 7,000 vines/ha on clay and limestone soils. The vines have an average age of 31 years. The wine is filled with spicy dark fruit, anise, stone, plum, and espresso scents. This richly textured, sultry wine was produced from 75% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, and 10% cabernet sauvignon. The wine ends with black cherries infused with anise. 92-95 Pts
2009 La Clotte, from limestone, sand, and clay terroir, offers dark fruit, minerality, and freshness along with opulent textures. This wine remains one of the insider’s secrets of St. Emilion. Because of its high quality, great style, and low price, this wine is often purchased by many of St. Emilion’s most famous wine makers. 91-93 Pts
2009 La Commanderie, from 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc, is an easy drinking style of wine that does not demand time before showing its light, red and dark berry charms 82-84 Pts
2009 La Confession, 68% merlot and 32% cabernet franc, is dense, rich, fat, and mouth filling. The wine finishes with licorice coated plums and blackberries. 91-93 Pts
2009 Cote de Baleau is a definite candidate for the top value Right Bank wine of the vintage. The eight hectare vineyard is planted at 7,000 vines/ha. The wine is 70% merlot, 15 cabernet franc, and 15% cabernet sauvignon. 3,000 cases were produced. Licorice, berries, and hints of oak are easy to find. Fleshy in texture, the wine has a round, dark berry filled finish. Only infrequently are consumers offered good wine from a great vintage at reasonable prices. Lovers of St. Emilion should be all over the Cote de Baleau. It will drink well early. 89-91 Pts
2009 Couspade offers licorice, dark berries, smoke, and coffee aromas. Soft and round, this ripe wine with its licorice, cocoa, and black raspberry flavors will drink well early. 88-90 Pts
2009 Le Dome is inky black. Produced from a whopping 80% cabernet franc, this unique wine offers licorice, fresh herbs, black raspberries, black cherry jam, coffee, espresso, and smoke aromas. Full bodied and filled with ripe fruit, this powerful wine ends with a long finish of blackberry, toasty oak, licorice, and mocha flavors. 92-94 Pts
2009 Faurie de Souchard opens with crushed stone, blackberry, and licorice scents. This round style of wine will drink early. 87-89 Pts
2009 Figeac opens with notes of blackberries, cassis, minerality, and licorice. The wine finishes with dark berries and spice. 90-93 Pts
2009 Fleur Cardinale, 70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, and 10% cabernet sauvignon, offers a nose of kirsch, black raspberry, espresso, and jammy blackberries. Full bodied, rich, and ripe, this wine finishes with sweet black cherries, licorice, mocha, and spice. 91-94 Pts
2009 Fonroque is filled with spicy dark berries and fennel. Medium to full bodied, with soft textures and a dark cherry filled finish. 90-92 Pts
2009 La Gaffeliere opens with limestone, dark berries, spice, and smoke aromatics. Silky in texture, this merlot based wine ends with boysenberries and licorice. 92-94 Pts
2009 Godeau, 95% merlot and 5% cabernet franc, comes from a 5.5 hectare property located not far from Tertre Roteboeuf and Troplong Mondot. Stephane Derenoncourt started consulting for the property in 2007. 2009 is their first success story. Darkly colored, this mineral filled wine offers spice, floral, black raspberry, chocolate, and licorice aromas. Supple in texture, this round wine ends with black cherry, anise, and cocoa flavors. The high quality and low price point make this is a property to watch. 91-94 Pts
2009 La Gomerie produced from 100% Merlot, is filled with licorice, plums, coffee, chocolate, and black raspberries with hints of jam. Soft, sexy, and round, it blends elegance with opulence, finishing with rich sensations of black raspberries and dark cherries. 92-94 Pts
2009 Grand Corbin Despagne is medium bodied with jammy blackberries, spice, and minerals. The wine offers a round, black cherry finish. 89-91 Pts
2009 Grandes Murailles is a knock out wine at a fair price. This tiny (1.46 hectare) vineyard is planted at 7,500 vines/ha, all merlot. The soils are sandy clay atop the Saint Emilion limestone plateau. Deeply colored, with cocoa, spice, fresh baked fruit pie, cinnamon stick, and jammy berries that explode from the glass. This sexy, stylish wine pours into your mouth with an intense, thick, black and blueberry filled finish, made complex by licorice and dark cherries. This is the first time I have scored this wine higher than their Clos St. Martin. But Grandes Murallies deserves the boost. 94-96 Pts
2009 Grand Mayne is deeply colored with black raspberry, plum, boysenberry, fennel, and coffee scents. Full bodied with round tannins and concentrated berries, the wine ends with dark berry and juicy plum flavors. 91-93 Pts
2009 Haut Corbin, 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc, is medium bodied wine done in a light style. It offers some plush dark berries in its soft, easy to drink style. 86-88 Pts
2009 Jean Faure, with its dark berry personality, is an early drinking St. Emilion. 84-86 Pts
2009 Laforge, which takes its name from the trade of a former owner who was a blacksmith, is deeply colored. With licorice, blackberry, and coffee notes, this full bodied, richly textured wine finishes with fennel and dark berry flavors. 90-92 Pts
2009 des Laudes, with its spicy, jammy berry, and licorice flavored profile, is a nice value wine.
2009 Lucia comes from a 3.06-hectare vineyard, part of it planted in 1901. The soils are clay and limestone. The vineyard yielded only 25 hls/ha. The wine is 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc . With its dark fruit, licorice, and mineral driven personality, Lucia finishes with fleshy dark cherries and anise. 89-91 Pts
2009 Le Jurat offers spicy berries in the nose. Medium bodied with a slightly drying finish. 81-83 Pts
2009 Larcis Ducasse, 81% merlot and 19% cabernet franc, is dark purple. Limestone, black raspberry, smoke, and spice aromatics start the wine off. Soft, rich, and full bodied, but lacking the intense concentration found in the remarkable 2005, this rich, sultry wine offers a spice filled, dark fruit and licorice flavored finish. 94-96 Pts
2009 Magdelaine opens with minerals, dark raspberries, chocolate, and licorice aromas. The soft textured wine is medium bodied, and ends with dark berry and chocolate flavors. 89/91 Pts
2009 Monbousquet is dark ruby. Spice, jammy dark berries, oak, and licorice comprise the perfume. The wine ends with black raspberries, chocolate, and spice. 90-92 Pts
2009 La Mondotte comes from a 4.5 hectare vineyard planted at a density ranging from 5,500 to 7,500 vines per hectare on clay and limestone soils. The property is located directly above Pavie-Decesse and across the road from Bellevue-Mondotte. Net yields in 2009 were a whopping 18 hls/ha. Malo was carried out in 100% new oak. The wine will be aged on the fine lees for an estimated 18 months. From 80 merlot and 20% cabernet franc, the wine is inky dark. The perfume starts with black raspberry, mineral, spice, and forest aromatics, then builds in the nose and mouth. Concentrated with multiple layers of stone and fruit, this La Mondotte is fresh, intense, and powerful, filled with crushed rocks and blackberry jam. It’s silky, round, lush. A serious wine requiring aging. The purity of its fruit is stunning. 95-97 Pts
2009 Moulin St. Georges is filled with floral scents along with notes of blackberry, plum, spice, and licorice. An elegant, medium to full bodied wine slightly short in the finish. 89-91 Pts
2009 Pavie , from vines close to 50 years old, is as black as a moonless sky. Incense, licorice, jammy dark fruit, and minerals are the first things you smell. This incredibly concentrated wine fills every area of your palate with dense, decadent berry sensations. The wine finishes with a mélange of chocolate, plum liqueur, and black cherries. A hedonistic wine. 96-98 Pts
2009 Pavie Decesse is inky. Jammy black fruit, plum, licorice, mineral, and dark cherry aromas fill your nose. This sexy wine is sweet, ripe, and lush, ending with a blast of licorice coated dark berries. 95-97 Pts
2009 Pavie Macquin, from clay and limestone soils, blends 85% merlot with 11% cabernet franc and 1% cabernet sauvignon. The moment the wine hits your nose, scents of crushed stone, blackberries, black plums, licorice, and chocolate are everywhere. Full bodied and intense, with silk and satin textures, this exciting wine has a supple, long, black cherry filled finish. 95-97 Pts
2009 Pierre de Lune. The property is owned Tony Ballu, winemaker for Clos Fourtet. The small (1 hectare) biodynamically farmed vineyard is planted on sand and gravel. From 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc, the wine offers black and blue fruit aromas coupled with licorice and espresso notes. Full bodied with round textures, this rich wine ends with supple, jammy dark berry flavors. 92-94 Pts
2009 Le Prieure is filled with minerals, anise, spicy dark berries, and smoke. Soft, round, fleshy, and flashy, this opulent wine should deliver pleasure early. 89-91 Pts
2009 Quinault L’Enclos is produced in a new style since being purchased by the owners of Cheval Blanc. The wine is now fresher, less ripe than the offerings from earlier vintages, and should probably age better than they did. One of the key reasons behind the change is that the fruit is being harvested earlier than it was previously. Dark berry and licorice scents mesh well with the fleshy, soft textures. The wine ends with a blast of ripe black cherries. 90-92 Pts
2009 Rol Valentin. The property has new owners related to the Robin family, previous owners of the famed Chateau Lafleur in Pomerol. The fruit is sourced from two separate vineyards: 60% of the crop comes from vineyards located in the eastern sector of St. Emilion, not far from Valandraud, on clay and limestone soils, while the remaining 40% emanates from property with sandy soils located close to Gomerie. The wine opens with stone, floral, black cherry and plum aromatics. Soft and velvety textured, this elegant wine should drink well after a few years of bottle age. I’ve always liked the style of this wine, but the lack of the wine’s ability to age has put me off from buying it. The 2009 is the best vintage I’ve tasted from this chateau. I hope the quality and style of this vintage will allow it to age better than those of previous years. 90-92 Pts
2009 Soleil opens with licorice and dark berries. This soft textured, easy drinking wine finishes with dark jammy berries. 5,000 cases were produced. 87-90 Pts
2009 Soleil le Rival offers simple berry flavors, soft textures, and a plum and blackberry filled finish. It will drink well early. 89-91 Pts
2009 Tertre Daugay is another candidate for a strong value play from 2009. With licorice, chocolate, and berry aromas, this richly textured wine has a round, chocolate covered plum finish. 88-90 Pts
2009 La Tour du Pin Figeac is now produced by the same team that makes Cheval Blanc. Made from 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc, it offers dark berry, licorice and fresh herb scents. Round in texture, the wine finishes with soft kirsch flavors. 90-92 Pts
2009 La Tour Figeac is made by Christine Derenoncourt. Soils are a mix of gravel and sandy clay atop a subsoil of rich clay. This estate is biodynamically farmed. The La Tour Figeac, 78% merlot and the rest cabernet franc, expresses mineral, floral, and jammy berry notes in its perfume. This fleshy, round textured wine ends with spicy berry and anise flavors. 89-91 Pts
2009 Teyssier is filled with fennel, chocolate, plum, and spearmint scents. The wine finishes with spicy dark cherries and blackberries. Some dryness in the finish. 87/89 Pts
2009 Troplong Mondot from a blend of 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc, is opaque with purple tints. Aromas of jammy plums, licorice, coffee, minerals, caramel, and dark berries fill your nose. Full bodied and intense, this thick wine is stuffed with ripe dark berries, chocolate, licorice, and plums. Even at 15.4% alcohol, the Troplong Mondot has only a minor touch of heat in the palate. 94-96 Pts
2009 Valandraud is deep, dark ruby with purple tints. This pungent wine offers aromas of fresh picked flowers, jammy blackberries, licorice, black raspberries, kirsch, coffee, and black cherries. This Valandraud is a richly textured, full bodied wine concentrated with pure ripe fruit. The long, clean, powerful finish offers freshness, paired with cherry and blackberry flavors. The best Valandraud since the stellar 1995. 95-96 Pts
2009 Vieux Chateau Mazerat is deeply colored with a strong mineral presence. From 65% merlot and the remainder cabernet franc, this limestone based wine feels like pure stone and fruit, coupled with licorice, dark berries, chocolate, and cherries. 89-91 Pts
2009 Villemaurine is located a short walk from the village of St. Emilion. The nose opens with scents of minerals, spicy dark berries and fennel. With soft textures and a medium body,The wine should offer pleasure early. 87-90 Pts
