TESTING
Harvested between September 17 and October 5, this wine seems always open
for business, so to speak, much like the great 1982s. The summer of 2009 was
very hot and dry, which got the harvest off to a reasonably early start. The blend
was 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit
Verdot. Jean Bernard Delmas’ goal was to find perfect equilibrium between
freshness and concentration, given its incredible opulence and the voluptuous
character this vintage offered. That’s what this wine has in abundance. With
an astounding dense purple color, the wine has velvety, sweet tannins, and an
extremely open - knit and opulent blueberry, blackberry and creme de cassis
nose. There is scorched earth, vanilla and, again, telltale licorice and spice. It is
unctuously textured – thicker and juicier than the 2010 and more forward. This
wine should come into its own in another five years. And again, it has at least
50+ years of aging potential. /RP /Aug 2014
for business, so to speak, much like the great 1982s. The summer of 2009 was
very hot and dry, which got the harvest off to a reasonably early start. The blend
was 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit
Verdot. Jean Bernard Delmas’ goal was to find perfect equilibrium between
freshness and concentration, given its incredible opulence and the voluptuous
character this vintage offered. That’s what this wine has in abundance. With
an astounding dense purple color, the wine has velvety, sweet tannins, and an
extremely open - knit and opulent blueberry, blackberry and creme de cassis
nose. There is scorched earth, vanilla and, again, telltale licorice and spice. It is
unctuously textured – thicker and juicier than the 2010 and more forward. This
wine should come into its own in another five years. And again, it has at least
50+ years of aging potential. /RP /Aug 2014