2009 Wine

The 2009 Proprietary Red Howell Mountain wraps around the palate with masses of blue and black fruit, smoke, tar, incense and licorice. A dense, resonant wine, the 2009 stands out for its extraordinarily vivid fruit and equally... Read More

The 2009 Roussanne comes across as quite rich and textured, with plenty of overt fruit, but less aromatic complexity and overall minerality. The vintage was the third in a series of drought years and the low - perhaps excessively... Read More

(no tasting note available)

The 2009 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard once again shows the richness and heft of the clay-rich soils in this site. This is an especially dense Pinot, even by Aubert's standards, that needs another year or so in bottle to start shedding... Read More

A masterpiece in the making, proprietor Alain Vauthier's 2009 Ausone boasts a dense purple color along with notes of powdered chalk, crushed rocks and wild blue, red and black fruits. Extravagantly rich with great minerality,... Read More

A masterpiece in the making, proprietor Alain Vauthier's 2009 Ausone boasts a dense purple color along with notes of powdered chalk, crushed rocks and wild blue, red and black fruits. Extravagantly rich with great minerality,... Read More

(no tasting note available)

The 2009 Proprietary Blend St. Eden is simply stunning. A rich, resonant bouquet melds seamlessly into layers of fruit as the 2009 shows off its breathtaking pedigree and sheer class. There is virtually no perception of tannin... Read More

A spectacular effort from this estate rivaling their 2005, but more flashy/flamboyant, this dark ruby/purple wine has a strikingly intense nose of licorice, flowers, plums and dark berries. Medium to full-bodied, very approachable... Read More

The 2009 Bettina Bryant is a striking wine graced with exquisite aromatics and beautifully delineated fruit. It is a bit darker, firmer and more inward than the Bryant Cabernet Sauvignon. Espresso, spices, black cherries, tobacco,... Read More

The finest Canon since the 1982, the 2009 (75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc) reveals a dense blue/purple color along with a classic nose of chalk dust, blueberries, black raspberries, black currants and a touch of wood smoke.... Read More

The finest Canon since the 1982, the 2009 (75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc) reveals a dense blue/purple color along with a classic nose of chalk dust, blueberries, black raspberries, black currants and a touch of wood smoke.... Read More

Deep ruby-red. Musky, complex nose combines redcurrant, flowers, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and spices. Then wonderfully intense and voluptuous, saturating the entire palate with dark fruit, spice and saline mineral flavors.... Read More

The 2009 Syrah Cardiac Hill is a gorgeous, thrilling wine laced with bacon fat, tapenade, savory herbs and plums. It possesses gorgeous aromatic delineation and fabulous length. The intense, mineral-drenched finish argues for... Read More

Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection comes wafting out of the glass with drop-dead gorgeous scents of Christmas cake, Chinese five spice, sandalwood and dried roses over a core of warm cassis, dried... Read More

Two excellent wines that sell for a song, the basic cuvee of Carignan displays lots of color, good, sweet black currant and black cherry fruit, medium body, silky tannins and low acidity. It is lush, sexy, and everything an inexpensive... Read More

Two excellent wines that sell for a song, the basic cuvee of Carignan displays lots of color, good, sweet black currant and black cherry fruit, medium body, silky tannins and low acidity. It is lush, sexy, and everything an inexpensive... Read More

A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily... Read More

A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily... Read More

It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate's vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy,... Read More

This fat, fleshy, dense purple-colored 2009 exhibits abundant notes of creme de cassis, roasted espresso, chocolate, berry fruit and underling hints of high quality, unsmoked cigar tobacco. Composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon,... Read More

The samples tasted in Southwold were not correct and therefore I requested a bottle to be included in this report that was tasted one week later. Suffice to say, it was completely different and much more representative. Here the... Read More