TN: 2009 Bordeaux ( and Margaux Blanc, Alpha Omega Late Harvest) (5/23/2012)

[Loren Sonkin]

2009 BORDEAUX ( AND MARGAUX BLANC, ALPHA OMEGA LATE HARVEST) - My Home (5/23/2012)
Last night my tasting group met to try some 09 Bordeaux. We try to do this every year, but this year, many of the usual suspects were out of our budget. In any event, we tried to get a nice range of pricing from $13 to $93. The wines were opened but not decanted a couple of hours ahead of time. Then consumed over a few hours. For the most part, all of them kept improving all night long, so perhaps decanting might have been in order. With one exception, the wines all showed very well. 09 looks to be a vintage that will provide lots of good drinking at the lower end. They may not be 10 year wines, but for the next three to five, I am looking forward to drinking many of these wines.
Bread and cheeses were served.

• 2005 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée
  This is ok but hardly worth the money IMO. It did get better with a few hours of air though. Green gold in color. The nose has lots of vanilla, wax, minerals and some lemongrass. On the palate, Lou noted some nuttiness which I did not get. Oily texture which I like. Still a good amount of oak which is outlasting the fruit here it would appear. If this was $20, I would be singing its praises, but I think it cost closer to $80. (90 pts.)

• 2009 Clos du Marquis - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Well this was disappointing. I have liked this wine for a while, and its gotten good scores but this bottle was unanimously panned by the group. No obvious flaws and I guess not a proper bottle but... Purple in color, ruby rim. The nose is sweaty with some dust. Tight. Not much fruit. On the palate, tart acidity. Thin. Worked better with some cheese. Cranberry fruit. (86 pts.)
• 2009 Château Haut Barrail - France, Bordeaux, Médoc
  This started out fast but unlike the other wines seemed to fade/shut down with air. The nose is clack currants with some sweaty leather notes. Sweet jammy fruit on the palate. Supple texture. Tannins got stronger with air. Nice wine for the money (under $20). (90 pts.)
• 2009 Château Thieuley - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée
  The star of the show. For $13, this was the groups WOTN. It got no first place votes, but everyone had it tanked high. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis, slight earthiness and a bit of warm leather. On the palate, this is juicy with nice cassis fruit. Complex. Medium tannins. Probably not built for the long haul but really tasty. Got better with air. (92 pts.)
• 2009 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  This was fine if a bit underachieving. The nose has some graphite and cassis. Maybe a floral note. On the palate, its got a sweet-tart candy note with some black currants. Tannic. Didn't budge as much as others with air. (89 pts.)
• 2009 Château La Fleur Morange Mathilde - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion
  I disagreed with the group here, liking it far more. But, I get why. This drinks like a nice California Meritage. Its very ripe and delicious, but seemed a bit loud on the table. The nose is dusty with raspberries. On the palate, sweet and jammy. Some heat on the finish. Not the most complex, but easy drinking. I enjoyed it for what it was. (91 pts.)
• 2009 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  This was my WOTN. Inky in color. The nose is great with Kirsch, graphite and cassis. Great silky texture. Soft. Complex. Medium tannins. This was delicious and after a bit, opened beautifully. Nice balance. (93 pts.)
• 2009 Château Le Pey - France, Bordeaux, Médoc
  Another superb QPR. Ruby in color. The nose has cassis, iodine and hints of red cherry peppers. Soft on the palate. nice and easy to drink. Black raspberry fruit. Nice balance. Under $15 and delicious now. (91 pts.)
• 2009 Château Quinault L'Enclos - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Very nice showing for this wine. The nose is sweaty, dusty with cassis and cranberries. On the palate, more black raspberry. Slightly tart in a good way. Some heat on the finish. Still, this seems like its good now but has a future. (91 pts.)
• 2009 M. Bortolussi Lucia - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Another very solid wine with lots of chance to improve. Cassis on the nose. Very clean. The palate is slightly thin but with some cheese it seems to put on weight. Nice slick texture. Good cassis fruit. (91 pts.)
• 2009 Château Beaumont - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
  this is ok, but I hoped for more considering the vintage. Its always pretty solid QPR and this is no exception though. The nose has cassis and leather. Solid drinking. Boysenberry notes. Medium tannins. Nice, not great. (88 pts.)

• 2006 Alpha Omega Late Harvest Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
  This is a dead ringer for a sauternes. I believe it is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Jean gave this to me and asked me to compare it to the 09 (non-reserve). I liked this better. Surprisingly, I found this to have better acidity and more cut. Perhaps it is because the fruit has mellowed a bit. I would have guessed 09 to have more acidity. Anyway, this is very good. Nice honey and apricot notes on the nose. Sweet, just shy of cloying. Viscous. Nice wine. (90 pts.)
• 2009 Alpha Omega Late Harvest - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Very similar to the 06 Reserve IMO. I preferred that as it had more complexity. This does not seem to have the cut, but perhaps it will balance out more with time. Also a dead ringer for a sauternes. Great fruit. Sweet but shy of cloying. (89 pts.)

[Jeff Leve]

Hi Loren.. It's good to see you tasting some of the 2009 Bordeaux wines. I liked the Clos du Marquis a lot more than you did. For the other wines, we are close enough to be on the same page. However, I like 2009 La Fleur Morange Mathilde a bit more than you as well. It's one of my top picks for value priced Bordeaux. Durfort Vivens is too light for my taste. There is just not enough wine in the glass...