2009 St. Julien Bordeaux Wine Tasting Notes, Ratings, Buying Guide

2009 Bordeaux Wine Vintage Report and Buying Guide with Tasting Notes, Reviews and Ratings and producer comments for the best 2009 Bordeaux Wines from the St. Julien appellation. The 2009 St. Julien wines were tasted in barrel in Bordeaux, June 2010.

2009 St. Julien Bordeaux wine tasting notes, ratings and reviews for the best 2009 St. Julien wines.

2009 Beychevelle offers spice, cedar, cassis, oak, and black raspberry aromas. Full bodied, with soft tannins, the wine ends with a dark berry finish. Beychevelle is one of the few non First Growths popular in the Asian market, in part because of the wine’s logo. The image shows a boat that was used to ferry barrels of Bordeaux.

In China, the boat is called a Dragon boat, a symbol of good luck. June 16, 2010, marked the official date of the Dragon Boat festival in China. It is possible that was the same day 2009 Beychevelle was offered as a future. 90/92 Pts

2009 Branaire Ducru is dark, with scents of boysenberry, dark chocolate, spice, cassis, and mocha. This elegant wine feels round in the mouth, finishing with flavors of licorice, black and blue fruit, and spice. This is a polished style of St. Julien. This outstanding wine is probably not going to reach the same level as the sublime 2005. Nonetheless, the 2009 Branaire Ducru is one of the better values for serious wine in 2009. 93-95 Pts

2009 Ducru Beaucaillou is midnight black with deep purple accents. Filled with dark berry aromas, cassis, spice, and ground espresso beans, this full bodied, lush, intense wine fills your mouth and coats your palate with dense layers of fat, juicy berries, dark chocolate, licorice, and spice sensations. 95-97 Pts

2009 Croix de Beaucaillou is not considered a second wine by the estate, since the fruit does not come from the parcels used to create Ducru Beaucaillou. With aromatics of spicy dark fruit and a cassis with chocolate finish, this wine should offer ample pleasure shortly after release. 89-91 Pts

2009 Gloria offers earth, berries, and fennel in the nose. This medium bodied, elegantly textured St. Julien should drink well early. 89-91 Pts

2009 Gruaud Larose is deep ruby. Cassis, coffee, and earthy aromas are easy to detect. This full bodied, structured wine ends with a sweet black raspberry finish. It is the best wine from the property since the 2000. 92-93 Pts

2009 Leoville Las Cases, from a blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, and 9% cabernet franc at 13.8 ABV, is deep ruby with purple accents. The alcohol gives no sensation of heat. Scents of boysenberry, tobacco, minerals, earth, cedar, and blackberry jam pop up from the glass. This concentrated wine is the essence of purity. The wine is round, without a single hard edge. The intense finish includes chocolate, boysenberry, blackberry, and blue fruit flavors, which remain on your palate for over a minute. 2009 was the first vintage using the Optical Sorting Machine. Delon said reverse osmosis not utilized every year, but only in select vintages. 97/99 Pts

2009 Clos du Marquis, in a continuing theme, is another example of probably the best wine ever produced by the property. Deep ruby color. Soft textures. The cassis, fennel, and fresh strawberry flavors round out the wine. 90-92 Pts

2009 Le Petit Lion with its tobacco, cassis, and berry scents offers a pleasant mouthful of dark fruit and cherries. 88/89 Pts

2009 Leoville Poyferre, according to Didier Cuvelier, owes some the quality for 2009 to changes at the winery. To obtain more precision in the vinification, Didier exchanged 20 200 hectoliter vats for 40 stainless steel vats ranging in size from 40 HE to 160 HE. The wine is black with purple tints, and it springs forth with potent aromatics of blackberry, black raspberry, cassis, licorice, sweet oak, and minerals. The wine is fat, rich, sweet, and sexy, with a plush mouth feel that ends with long, pure, spicy black fruit notes. Didier compares 2009 with his 1982. 96-98 Pts.

2009 St. Pierre  continues on its path of improvement since 2005. Because the property is not as well known as many St. Julien wines, the wine remains well priced for its quality. In fact, along with Branaire Ducru, it offers one of the better deals for fine wine from the Medoc in 2009. With deep ruby hues, the wine smells of dark berries, cassis, anise, cracked black pepper, and oak. Rich, fresh, and round, this full bodied wine finishes with lush cassis, boysenberry, spice, and chocolate flavors. 94-95 Pts.

2009 Talbot is earthy, offering licorice covered dark berry flavors with soft opulent textures, and a sweet finish filled with cassis, spice, and fennel. 90-92 Pts