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Bordeaux 2009: Vintage report by Bill Blatch
(The First Full 2009 Vintage Report)

The first decade of the 21st century goes out in a blaze of glory
Dec 2009 / Feb 2010 2009:

A decade with no off-vintages - Bordeaux has never experienced that before - even those all-time great decades, the 1920s and the 1840s had a few misses. In this first decade of the new millennium, all have been successful, four made by end-of-season sunshine (2001- 02-07-08), two by heat early in the season (04-06), and four of highly concentrated wines from a combination of good summers as well as good autumns (00-03-05-and now 09, each receiving more acclaim than the previous one). That is a total all-time record.

And this final one has turned out to be the most concentrated of them all. In 2009, we seem to have reached the extreme limit of Bordeaux concentration Yet it was not the hottest year by any means - that was 2003 - nor was it the driest - that was 2005. In 2009, there were no extremes, just good regular heat at the right times, with everything coming in the right order: the vine amply nourished by ground water during its growing period, then, as from 15th June, starved of water - very progressively - during the ripening and concentration of its bunches right through the rest of the vineyard year.

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James Suckling Uncorked

Be Happy

2009 Bordeaux prices seem to be all anyone wants to talk about, but with prices still not announced, the quality should be the topic of conversation
Posted: Apr 5, 2010 11:00am ET

It seems everyone wants to know about prices for 2009 Bordeaux, but they haven't been released yet, and I'd like to bring the conversation back to the vintage's exceptional quality. I love the way the wines have such opulent fruit backed by powerful tannins. Yet the tannins are round and polished with the top wines. In addition, the reds are fresh and vibrant. A lot of people make comparisons to 1982, which I have to agree with to some extent but, honestly, I think they are better.

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James Suckling Uncorked

More Thoughts on 2009

While there will be plenty of good 2009 values from some of Bordeaux's smaller operations, the region's best names will be recession-proof
Posted: Apr 2, 2010 11:00am ET

I was chatting with Patrick Maroteaux, the head of St.-Julien's classified-growth Chateau Branaire-Ducru, about 2009 Bordeaux pricing. While I think there will be hundreds of good value wines from the 2009 vintage, the top names, including the first-growths, will have no need to lower prices despite the global economic downturn..

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James Suckling Uncorked

The Demand Appears to Be There for 2009 Bordeaux

I am already hearing scary rumors about the futures prices for the top names in Bordeaux for this excellent young vintage
Posted: Mar 31, 2010 12:00pm ET

I watched as about 1,000 people showed up for the 2009 Pessac-Leognan tasting at Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte today. Despite the global economy and overabundance of quality wine in the marketplace, no one looks worried in Bordeaux about the current market for his or her new top wines. You won't believe what one wine merchant told me to expect when the 2009 futures go on sale.

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James Suckling Uncorked

Clarity of Fruit

I tasted more than 50 wines from top Bordeaux consultant Stephane Derenoncourt today
Posted: Mar 30, 2010 3:00pm ET

Today I visited with Stephane Derenoncourt, who consults for wineries around the world, and is a master in Bordeaux. I blind-tasted more than 50 of his 2009 Bordeauxs, from Margaux, Pessac-Leognan, St.-Emilion and more, and his winemaking style works beautifully with this amazing vintage. I found some potential classics among his lineup; here are my notes.

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James Suckling Uncorked

Still One of the World's Most Exciting Wine Regions

2009 will not match 2005 for overall quality, but many chateaus have made their best wines ever, particularly in Margaux and St.-Estephe
Posted: Mar 29, 2010 3:00pm ET

I have tasted all the 2009 Bordeaux first-growths over the past two days while on a tasting road trip through Pessac-Leognan and the Medoc, the Holy Grail area for Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux. And, as you probably expected, their 2009s are excellent from barrel. A couple are amazing, notably Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. I am already saving what few pennies I have left to try to buy some when they come out. Who knows how much the first-growths will be per bottle, but I am sure they are not going to be a bargain, even for millionaires.

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James Suckling Uncorked

Not Really Lost in the Translation

Tasting the 2009 Bordeaux on the Right Bank today, I found exceptional wines at Chateaus Cheval-Blanc, Ausone, Petrus and more
Posted: Mar 25, 2010 3:00pm ET

I traveled to the Right Bank today, continuing my tastings of the 2009 Bordeaux barrel samples, and it looks like St.-Emilion and Pomerol made some extraordinary wines. The red that really took my breath away was Ausone. What a wine! It could be another perfect effort. Here is my note for the 2009 Ausone: Such a dreamy aroma to this wine. Smells like perfume on the neck of the most beautiful woman on earth. Full-bodied, but wonderfully polished and integrated. It touches every millimeter of your palate.

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James Suckling Uncorked

Good Energy, Good News

Bordeaux is buzzing over the 2009 vintage, and after a tasting of all the first-growths, Mouton and Latour clearly have winners in barrel
Posted: Mar 24, 2010 3:00pm ET

I have to agree with some Bordeaux wine producers. The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux may be their "best ever." I am especially impressed with some of the smaller, lesser known producers in some of the top appellations such as Margaux and St.-Estèphe. They seem to have made some wonderful rich, ripe and structured young reds, and I have written in many of their tasting notes "best ever." However, it doesn't appear that 2009 is an across-the-board success, such as 2005 and 2000, or even 2003. The smaller appellations in no way produced consistently excellent wines.

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James Suckling Uncorked

First Impressions on 2009 Bordeaux

A drive up the Medoc includes stops at Margaux, Malescot, Rauzan-Segla, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Leoville-Barton and Latour, among others
Posted: Mar 23, 2010 3:00pm ET

The 2009 vintage for Bordeaux might not be as great as 2005 in terms of across-the-board quality, according to a few winemakers I spoke with today during a road trip to visit many of the top names in the Medoc. Based on my early impressions, I have to agree, but it's very early to generalize and I'll know more as I continue my blind tastings of the barrel samples. There are definitely going to be some great wines: Some will be better than their counterparts from 2005, as well as from 2003, 2000 and other modern classic vintages.
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James Suckling Uncorked

Older and Wiser

Preparing to taste the highly anticipated 2009 Bordeaux barrel samples
Posted: Mar 22, 2010 3:00pm ET

It's a long road to Bordeaux from Basel, Switzerland. I made two wrong turns near Beaune, even with my GPS system going strong. Perhaps the Burgundy producers didn't want me to get to Bordeaux? It could have also been that my mind was not completely on the driving. I kept thinking about getting to Bordeaux and putting my nose in a glass of 2009. I spoke to a top winemaker in the region over the car phone as we sped down the A 71 and he said that "people in Bordeaux say that you are going to be drinking the barrel samples because they are so good."

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2009 Bordeaux Barrel Tasting

James Suckling

Is this another classic vintage? James Suckling is tasting in Bordeaux for three weeks to find out. Check his tasting notes and daily blogs for the buzz
Posted: March 19, 2010

In France's most famous wine region, Bordeaux, some people are touting the 2009 vintage as the mother of great modern vintages. Though the young wines are still aging in the chateau cellars, the year already has been compared to the classic modern vintages of 2005, 1990, 1989 and 1982. Some people go further back to such legendary years as 1961, 1945, 1929 and even 1899. I can't yet tell you how much is hype and how much is real. But I believe the vintage is a great one, from my limited tastings and discussions on the vintage last December in Bordeaux. I will certainly be able to tell you more following a three-week trip to the area beginning March 22. Each day, I will be tasting barrel samples of the young wines and interviewing Bordeaux's top winemakers, then filing tasting notes, blogs, videos and other reports.

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Bordeaux 2009: Sweet Wines

SAUTERNES BARSAC 2009

Last Saturday I tasted Denis Dubourdieu's sweet white wines and today, 19 wines from 2009.
My conclusion : 2009 is the most extraordinary vintage that I have been fortunate enough to come across in the area

Unmistakable signs:
When tasting wines we all have ways and tricks of our own. Here is one of mine: when I am tasting sweet white wines, I always make sure that I have a couple of bottles of water with me. So, today, next to the 2009 futures, in prime position, was a bottle of mineral water. But you'll never guess. Although the wines were rich in residual sugar I hardly felt the need to use water at all to rinse out my mouth. My attention was taken by much more than the mere sweet feeling.

Style
All the wines displayed a light golden yellow colour. The noses were invariably pleasant and the Botrytis could unmistakeably be felt through traces of oak moss, which will fade out during the maturing process. They were all surprisingly clean and fruity, making the more traditional comments about candied fruit or, even worse, honey, often used when talking about a sweet white wine nose, utterly irrelevant. In 2009, the noses are astonishingly fresh and subtle.
On the palate, the wines' superb tactile feelings, smoothness and lightness totally enticed me. Their depth levels varied, of course, but none of them failed to show a magical presence when the sweet character turned into silk before it vanished and gave way to an amazing display of savours. On finish, the freshness stimulated saliva (and that is precisely why I did not feel the need to use water) and made it impossible for me not to swallow.
So, how was that possible after so much sweetness? Some will look at the pH and acidity levels and will find the balance with the sugar absolutely perfect. Personally, after so many tastings, the magic of Botrytis and its fantastic aromas and effects, which we still know very little about, still has the power to move me.
An outstanding vintage!
I have flagged many of those wines as " my best grade given to this wine as a future ".


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