Bordeaux 2009: A truly great vintage but for great winemakers.

2009 is an unparalleled vintage for Bordeaux. Whilst certainly not a year without blemish, the many successes in 2009 have made for some of the best young claret we have ever experienced. The seductive textures and harmony of these wines is what is so arresting. The finest examples of the vintage display an ethereal balance between highly polished tannins, multi-layered complex expressions of fruit, and yet, critically, a freshness and clarity to them which gives the wines a beguiling impression of power with grace. This is, in our view, a benchmark vintage for the region, and stylistically quite different to the recent vintages before it. But that does not mean all the estates succeeded. There are various reasons behind that but picking dates, as always, proved to be pivotally important. There are examples of over-ripeness, particularly in some of the merlot. This has meant that some wines in 2009 feel clumsy. There are also signs of over-extraction in certain estates, predominantly, though not exclusively, in the areas of St. Emilion and Margaux. Though with St. Emilion, it seems to be less prevalent than in previous years. Nor is success confined to the great Chateaux; we were delighted with many of the lower growths of the Medoc particularly, and there should be a treasure trove of these estates around Pauillac, St. Julien and St. Estephe which should prove to be the best value buys in 2009.

After an early and uniform flowering and bud burst, Bordeaux experienced some localised hail storms in May. This devastated estates in appellations as diverse as the Entre deux Mere, Lalande de Pomerol, Margaux and St. Emilion. Although the storms were violent, most properties escaped, albeit with lower yields, though some were severely affected. Early hail is preferable to autumn hail as it reduces crop size but thankfully has no real impact on quality. Summer arrived soon after the storms and stayed and stayed and stayed. 2009 was in fact one of the driest summers on record, but critically without the extreme heats witnessed in 2003. These conditions persisted into September and many vignerons became concerned about hydric stress rather than the more normal concern just before harvest time, rain. Thankfully there were a few refreshing showers at just the right moments to cool and invigorate the vines, and again this forms part of the style to the wines of 2009. An Indian summer without parallel saw daytime temperatures regularly exceed 25 degrees. However, night-time temperatures plummeted, which enabled grapes to maintain their acidity and consequently the wines their freshness.

So, blessed with near perfect raw materials 2009 should be brilliant from top to bottom. Well, sadly that is not the case. 2009 is a vintage with potentially record alcohol levels and ripeness, and these needed to be managed. The top terroirs and winemakers have excelled and produced concentrated wines with extraordinary aromatic complexity, while also maintaining an important freshness, texture and balance. Winemakers who forced this, or picked too late, have produced over-extracted, clumsy wines that lack excitement and class.

So this is a challenging vintage to summarise. The highs are stratospheric, though it is not as homogenous as 2005, particularly at the lower end. There are exceptional wines from all communes including an incredible showing in Sauternes and Barsac. In general, it is a vintage that most suits Cabernet, and yet the best of Pomerol is among the best of 2009. Although the wines are massively endowed, they possess a refinement and balance which is quintessential Bordeaux. We have spent hours discussing the velvety, silky textures and exquisitely crafted tannins which we tasted during our week. But I personally liked Frederic Engerer’s analysis on the style of 2009: the elegance of 2000, the power of 2005, but with a unique aromatic twist. It is that combination which makes these wines both original and compelling.

Bordeaux 2009: Hew's Views ,The Right Bank

Further thoughts on the vintage, this time the wines of Pomerol & St Emilion, from our Chairman Hew Blair...

Hew's Views: The Right Bank from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Bordeaux 2009: Chateau Pichon Lalande

The incredibly affable Gildas d'Ollone, happy to chat about the ease of the vintage and what it can be compared to, on a sunny afternoon, overlooking the vineyards.

Chateau Pichon-Lalande from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Bordeaux 2009: Frederic Engerer, Chateau Latour

Chateau Latour from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Chateau Latour's Technical Director, Frederic Engerer, on the merits of a vintage that has produced not just powerful wines but also wines with a certain "aromatic twist"...

Bordeaux 2009 – James Suckling’s verdict...

Earlier we alluded to The Wine Spectator being first out of the blocks with some hefty scores. Well, now we’ve had time to log on and digest their findings. No surprises that Mr Suckling loves the vintage and doles out some impressive numbers. On the 100 point scale, the Firsts all fare pretty well:

Margaux 96-99
Lafite Rothschild 96-99
Latour 97-100
Mouton Rothschild 97-100
Haut Brion 97-100

And there are many other successes. Eglise Clinet, Lafleur, Petrus, Trotanoy, VCC, Ausone, Figeac, Cos, Montrose, Las Cases and Malescot St Exupery all flirt with perfection, whilst there are literally dozens of estates in the 94-99 point category. Pomerol is possibly the highest scoring commune with big scores for Evangile, Conseillante, Le Pin, La Fleur Petrus and the `blockbuster` Providence (95-98).

All in all the scores seem extravagant, but this is an extreme vintage that merits praise. All eyes will now be on Maryland for Mr Parker’s scores. Will he exceed 100?

Bordeaux 2009 – More scores

Our second category is `Best of the Left`. Our intrepid tasters were asked to compile a list of their top ten wines from the Medoc and the Grave (excluding the First Growths and La Mission Haut Brion). Competition was fierce; no fewer than 18 wines were utilized, including one or two surprises. The same rules applied, 10 points for first place all the way down to 1 point for tenth position.

Starting at the top, the runaway victor was predictably Leoville Las Cases with a remarkable 79/80. It’s just idle speculation, but I’d wager that if Las Cases had been included within our First Growth category, it would have finished in a Champion’s League spot. Next, and almost as emphatically comes Pontet Canet with 72/80; the wine that prevented Las Cases from recording a perfect 80! Bronze goes to the magnificent Cos and then it all becomes quite congested mid table; just 11 points separate Calon Ségur, Leoville Barton, Palmer, Pichon Lalande, Grand Puy Lacoste and Montrose. It’s also worth noting a particularly strong showing from Haut Marbuzet; a Cru Bourgeois is a sea of Cru Classé.

Leoville Las Cases - 79
Pontet Canet - 72
Cos d'Estournel - 47
Calon Segur - 35
Leoville Barton - 33
Palmer - 28
Pichon Lalande - 27
Grand Puy Lacoste - 25
Montrose - 24
Ducru Beaucaillou - 15
Forts de Latour - 12
Pavillon Rouge - 9
Haut Marbuzet - 7
Malescot St Exupery - 7
Rauzan Segla - 6
Lynch Bages - 6
Pichon Baron - 5
Haut Bailly - 3

Bordeaux 2009: Edouard Moueix

Pomerol from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Edouard, ever the gentleman, gives us his thoughts on the exceptional 2009 vintage at both Providence and Belair-Monange...

Hew's Views: The Medoc

Hew's Views: The Medoc from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Our very own Hew Blair, Buying Director and Chairman gives us his thoughts after a long day tasting the wines of the Medoc. Watch the blog for upcoming videos detailing Hew's picks from the right bank, his value selections and the inside track from a man who has been doing the Bordeaux thing since 1969.

Bordeaux 2009 - Scores on the doors...

We understand that the Wine Spectator are first to publish their scores for 2009 Bordeaux. We haven’t had a chance to look for ourselves, but James Suckling is apparently in typically buoyant mood, rating many wines near to perfection. We too have succumbed to the allure of numbers. In a highly scientific approach all eight members of the team have been asked to rank their favourite wines from the vintage. There are six categories: `First Growths`, including La Mission Haut Brion, Le Pin, Lafleur, Cheval Blanc and Ausone; `Left Bank and Graves` (excluding 1sts); `Right Bank` (excluding 1sts); best value buys (from either bank); top five Sauternes/Barsac and top five dry whites. The top ranked wine from each taster is awarded a maximum `dix points`, all the way down to the tenth placed wine, which receives just one point, a bit like Eurovision... then we tot up the scores and voila, we have a comprehensive list of the best wines.

The results are in and we start with the First Growths. 75 out of a potential 80 is quite an endorsement for Latour, a staggering wine and quite deserving of first place. It is also interesting to note that the list alternates between left/right bank until no. 8, making it difficult to call as a left/right bank vintage at the very top end.


Latour - 75
Le Pin - 67
Margaux - 59
Ausone - 57
Lafleur - 46
Lafite Rothschild - 40
Cheval Blanc - 38
Haut Brion - 25
La Mission Haut Brion - 17
Mouton Rothschild - 16

Results for the other categories will follow in the coming days.

Bordeaux 2009 – The final furlong

Okay, so we’ve tasted both banks and we are impressed. Day four was an opportunity to re-taste some of our favourite wines and also venture into Pessac and Sauternes. Before we left St Emilion we decided to pop into Chateau Pavie for an impromptu tasting. Hew charmed his way in and we washed away the taste of Sensodyne with some seriously tannic St Emilion. The Perse style is big, extracted, impressive and won’t be for everyone (including us...)

Then we headed to Fargue Saint Hilaire for a tasting with one of our key negociants. Here we had the opportunity to re-taste a huge selection of 2009s comparatively. This was fascinating. The super stars were Leoville Las Cases, Pontet Canet, Pichon Lalande, Forts de Latour, Grand Puy Lacoste, Leoville Barton, Calon Segur, Montrose and Conseillante. Best values included Chateau Reynon, Chasse Spleen, Durfort Vivens and Cantemerle. Again, we were impressed by the overall quality of St Estephe, Pauillac and St Julien; the wines from the Medoc, Listrac and Moulis were big over achievers, but again, we found many of the Margaux were un-typique.

UGC Pessac Leognan presented some lovely wines. Domaine de Chevalier was exceptional, Haut Bailly - silky smooth, Smith Haut Lafitte - powerful and refined, Pape Clement - enormous and massively impressive, and Malartic Lagraviere continues its recent run of success. The whites were striking too. Domaine de Chevalier has wonderful purity and intensity. We liked Malartic Lagraviere and we thought Picque Caillou was delicious and could be great value.

A quick foray into the misty depths of Barsac and Sauternes. Yquem was magnificent, our buying director and Chairman believes this to be the best young Yquem he has ever tasted, superior to the extraordinary 2001. As well as wonderful quality, Yquem has recorded its biggest ever harvest at 22hl/ha. We tasted ten barrels at Climens. Bérénice Lurton is clearly delighted with what turned out to be a harvest of quality and quantity; a splendid wine.

Our final appointment was at Haut Brion; a glorious selection of wines here. Clarence is fine textured and is undoubtedly the best Clarence ever; La Mission was so seductive, a splendid wine of purity and power; Haut Brion was enormously endowed, a vast wine built for the long haul. The whites are marvellous too; concentrated, mineral, energetic and wonderfully fresh - a great way to finish our week.

When we get back to the UK we will be posting more `Hew’s views`, video interviews and our top wines of the vintage.

Bordeaux 2009 – The right bank (St Emilion)

Our first taste of St Emilion was Cheval Blanc – what better place to begin. Tour du Pin was pretty, well made and could be one of the best values from the commune. Petit Cheval is outstanding, complex, impressive and down right delicious. The Grand vin then goes and wipes the floor... A tour de force and clearly one of the greatest wines from this illustrious estate.

All good things must come to an end and they certainly did at the UGC St Emilion. Another heavy shower, a pathetic fallacy if we ever saw one, soaked us and our spirits. Let’s start with highs (in no particular order): Larcis Ducasse, Troplong Mondot, Clos Fourtet, Canon, Pavie Macquin and Figeac. There were all too many wines that were unbalanced, outrageously tannic and generally unappealing.

Still under heavy skies, we travelled to Angelus where we were met by pretty girls and delicious wines. What a great stable of beautiful right banks from Hubert de Bouard. First off Fleur de Bouard proved an enormously attractive Lalande de Pomerol, the Grand Cru St Emilion Bellevue was staggeringly good, all velvet and undergrowth, whilst Angelus was seriously slick. From the crowded Angelus to the tight squeeze of Ausone, another of the vintage’s greats, how they achieve a wine of such concentration and focus year in year out is quite puzzling.

As usual we left Tertre Roteboeuf until last, the heady cherry on our flavoursome cake. Tertre was rich but vivid and vital, whilst Roc de Combe was glorious, pushing its sibling as close as ever for sheer intense quality. We had an insightful and thoroughly interesting interview with Francois Mitjavile, this will follow soon.

Bordeaux 2009 – The right bank (Pomerol)

Our first appointment was with the delightful Denis Durantou of Chateau L’Eglise Clinet. A magnificent range of wines picked before the rains in mid September. Crisp, vivid flavours combined with power and intensity. L’Evangile and Blason de L’Evangile were magnificent; silky smooth with power to boot. Then to Le Pin; it’s a hard life... Jacques Thienpont welcomed us to his temporary new cellar with his usual good cheer; the wine was at its ethereal best. From the Richebourg of Pomerol we travelled (some of us in a rather roundabout way) to the La Tache of Pomerol; Chateau Lafleur. The Cabernet Franc here is exceptional; the Grand vin is exquisitely fine, a wine of great class.

Next we tasted at the offices of J P Moueix. The charming Edouard Moueix kindly gave us an enlightening video blog, which will be posted later. Belair Monange is exceptional, Fleur Petrus, Hosanna and Trotannoy are all lovely, but it was La Providence that impressed most from the selection of Pomerol – a massively dense, complex wine with outstanding ageing potential.

You might be thinking that Pomerol is consistently brilliant, well it is at the top level, however the Pomerol UGC was a bit of a mixed bag. Conseillante was spectacular, Gazin was big and impressive, Clinet was even bigger and more impressive, but won’t be for everyone... La Cabanne and La Pointe demonstrated that there are some tough, rustic offerings from the commune, so it hasn’t been completely plain sailing.

We finished Pomerol with a trip to Alexandre Thienpont’s Vieux Chateau Certan. This is always a highlight of any Bordeaux trip. A stunning wine with an unusually high percentage of Merlot (84%); Alexandre believes that 2009 is a reference year for this varietal.

Bordeaux 2009: Super-Size Sauternes

Hot on the heels of the Haut Medoc tasting, brilliantly hosted by the delightful Chateau Cantemerle was our next appointment at Dauzac to taste the 2009 sweeties. It appears this Sauternes vintage is one of quality and quantity. Foggy mornings, cool nights and plenty of sunshine meant lots of noble rot, great ripeness and concentration and importantly, fresh acidities. De Fargues reported yields of 17hl/ha against an average 11 hl/ha and the quality is golden.

There will always be hot, sugary and rather clumsy Sauternes but I am happy to report there were a large number of highlights during this tasting, wines that lifted, enthused and refreshed a thoroughly red wine-stained J&B team. For the best this is not a heavy honeyed monolith of a vintage, rather one of concentration and brightness. The room's stand out wine was Rieussec, a powerful but balanced wine that will reward decades of cellaring no doubt. Doisy Verdines danced on the palate, all fruit finesse and freshness. Similarly well balanced were De Fargues, De Malle, Doisy Daene and Suduiraut all showing the right mix of concentration, vitality and well defined fruit. Sweet relief ahead of a big day on the right bank tomorrow.

Bordeaux 2009 – Margaux’s big boys...

The inclement weather has certainly made tasting more of a challenge today. Fortunately by the time we arrived for our appointment at Chateaux Margaux, the clouds had cleared and there was bright sunshine – now that’s what we call a micro-climate...

Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontalier are clearly delighted with their 2009s. Paul said that the Pavillon Rouge is `clearly the greatest Pavillon ever`; quite a statement, but the evidence was in the glass. In fact, there was no sales pitch at all, such is the confidence at Margaux, `the wines speak for themselves` . Pavillon Rouge was exceptional. Margaux itself is quite simply ethereal. A magnificent wine which exudes grace, possesses extraordinary finesse yet is quite simply one of the most powerful, concentrated Margauxs ever. It would be remiss not to mention the Pavillon Blanc. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc cuvee was a remarkable feat in 2009. Potential alcohols were off the charts, however with great skill, Margaux have produced a vivid, refreshing, utterly moreish Pavillon Blanc with near normal alcohols.

Palmer is another of those red hot estates at the moment. Sadly their vineyards were hit by hail in May 2009, so yields are a meagre 34hl/ha. However, the crop that they harvested between the 23rd of September to the 14th of October was of exceptional quality. The Alter Ego is velvety smooth; a wine of great polish, whilst the Grand vin is opulence personified, a truly great Palmer!

Do watch out for more interviews and news in the coming hours and days. Tomorrow we will be on the right bank tasting St Emilion and Pomerol.

Bordeaux 2009 – Day 2

A wet and windy start to day two. Our first appointment was Grand Puy Lacoste. Xavier’s wines are thrilling, a great Lacoste Borie (2nd wine of GPL), a magnificent Haut Batailley; fragrant, seductive and very serious. Grand Puy Lacoste itself is beautiful; classic, true to its terroir and very classy. Then to Lafite Rothschild (tasted at Duhart Milon this year). Duhart is splendid; a heady mix of damson fruit and liquid minerals. Lafite itself is enormous; a monumental wine built for the very long-term, bravo!

UGC St Estephe, Pauillac and St Julien was held at Batailley. Howling winds, horizontal rain and poor car parking facilities couldn’t dampen our spirits. This was an interesting tasting; at was a first glimpse at some less prestigious estates. Highlights included both Pichons, Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre, Langoa Barton, Beychevelle and Lynch Bages. There were several over-achievers: Phelan Ségur, Ormes de Pez, Lafon Rochet, St Pierre and Lagrange all stood out. Alas, although the overall quality was excellent, Croizet Bages, Lynch Moussas and Grand Puy Ducasse were poor.

UGC Margaux was even patchier. Although the quality is definitely an improvement on 2008, most of the wines here seemed to lack Margaux style. There were a few good wines, but most were strangely atypical. They will certainly age well and are mighty impressive, but not necessarily classic. Stars included Durfort Vivens, Rauzan Segla, Lascombes and Malescot St Exupery.

After some much needed refreshments at Cantemerle, we set about the Listrac, Moulis, and Medoc UGC. In great vintages like 2000 and 2005, these wines present some of the best value from Bordeaux. The 2009s are arguably better than both of these vintages. The best wines were fragrant, concentrated, with exceptional purity and ripe rounded tannins. Stars included: Chasse Spleen, Cantemerle and Poujeaux, whilst there is incredible value to be found at estates such as Beaumont and Greysac.

Bordeaux 2009: Jean-Guillaume Prats, Cos d'Estournel

Chateau Cos d'Estournel from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Visiting Cos is quite something these days. The new tasting hall, artfully lit, emblazoned with the Cos Elephant at every opportunity, turned out to have a tailor made spot for a few words on the vintage..

Bordeaux 2009 - Part deux

Wow, Latour is jaw-droppingly good. Frederic Engerer has made astonishingly good set of 2009s; the grand vin is the best wine we have tasted yet – and it will take some beating. Both Pichons are good, but Lalande is comfortably better than Baron. After lunch we concentrated on St Julien. Leoville Poyferre is stunning; dense, complex and very stylish. The Bartons are, well, of course they’re great, they always are, but the `09s are even more concentrated, even more impressive, even better than usual. Bruno Borie is understandably delighted with his range; Croix de Beaucaillou is delicious and Ducru is very special – a wine of great intensity and class. Leoville Las Cases is regal and Clos du Marquis and Petit Lion are delightful too. Beychevelle is delicious; supple, fresh, beautifully pure. Our last appointment was with Lynch Bages; a fabulous effort; rich, with beautiful savoury notes – a real stunner.

So what have we learnt from our first day? We were expecting enormous wines, and they are big, but they have surprised us by how fresh and elegant they are. Certainly in the Medoc the 2009s are possibly more refined than the 2005s. This vintage is not all about power, there are some really silky, high-toned, complete wines that demonstrate wonderful precision and class.

Bordeaux 2009 En Primeur: Luc Thienpont, Clos des Quatre Vents

The first of our series of interviews conducted during the UGC week in Bordeaux features Luc Thienpont, whose Clos des Quatre Vents is even more delicious than usual this year.

Throughout the week we'll putting the questions to the people who make the wines you love. Was it a tough vintage to make? What were the challenges? Can they compare these wines to any other vintage (most can, as you'll see). And of course, any word on pricing......?

Stay tuned, there are many more to come.

A family affair

As a rule we don’t boast about all the fabulous dinners we enjoy at J&B, however, there’s always a first time... Last night we were entertained by the charming and extremely generous Luc Thienpont and his delightful family. We were put through our paces with multiple blind wines. We started so well; we picked Clos de Quatre Vents 2001, sadly our luck and skill ran out after that. Clos de Quatre Vents 2002 and 2004 followed, both utterly delicious; a testament to the great terroir and exceptional winemaking here. Then came a wine from Luc’s cousin, Alexandre. This was unmistakably VCC, but the year had us guessing. After a little assistance we eventually arrived at 1970; still tasting so young. Finally, we were treated to a magnificent bottle from the vineyard of Luc’s brother Jacques. We again picked the estate (Le Pin), but with limited experience with mature vintages (this is not a wine the J&B team often drink...), we struggled to pick 1989 as the vintage. It was quite simply one of the very finest bottles any of the team had ever tasted. Many thanks Luc for an exceptional, extremely generous selection of wines and a wonderful evening; the perfect start to our week.

Bordeaux 2009 - First Impressions

Following the narrowest of victories in the annual Bordeaux versus England cricket match we headed to Clos des Quatre Vents for our first taste of 2009. Luc's wines were fabulous; demonstrating true Margaux perfume and polish. The range is possibly his best yet; concentrated, deliciously fresh and true to their terroir. Monday Morning started with a trip to Montrose. A very serious, long term wine here - full of breed. Next came Haut Marbuzet, a completely different proposition - ultra fine, beautifully composed and utterly delicious; almost Burgundian. A short hop to Cos, which as Hew has previously mentioned is outstanding; an enormous wine of legendary proportions. Then to Pauillac for tastings at Mouton Rothschild and Pontet Canet. The Mouton range continue to impress; a delicious Clerc Milon and a spell binding Mouton. Ponet Canet is a must buy; a complete wine of intensity and finesse. Off to Latour...