En Primeur News : Thursday, 3rd June 2010

We now have what we are convinced will the best "Pounds per Parker Point" deal in the entire 2009 en primeur campaign!

 

Robert Parker has rated Chateau Barde-Haut 93-95 points and has declared that this is the richest, most concentrated, biggest and best Barde Haut ever made! Despite this rave review in The Wine Advocate, we are pleased to be able to offer this impressive Saint Emilion at just £240 per case. We feel quite certain that no other 2009 Bordeaux with a Parker rating as good as this will be available for as little as £20 per bottle. Great score, low price and with a tiny yield of just 18 hl/ha this is very little of it available.

 

"A tiny crop of 18 hectoliters per hectare (the result of the mid-May hail damage) lead to an opaque purple-colored, richest, most concentrated, biggest Barde-Haut made to date. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 possesses an intense bouquet of mulberries, boysenberries, charcoal, toast, and graphite. Extremely full-bodied, thick, and viscous with good freshness and definition as well as sweet, but high tannins, this beauty can be enjoyed over the next two decades. (Tasted two times.) Drink 2010-2030. Robert Parker added an asterisk to this wine score to signify that it is a wine he considers has the finest potential of all the offerings he has ever tasted from this estate in nearly 32 years of barrel tasting samples in Bordeaux. 93-95 points." Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

 

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We also have the release of the most "senior" classed growth of the campaign so far with the launch of 3eme cru classé, Chateau Giscours at £435. This property has been much improved over the last decade under the Dutch manager, Alexander Van Beek and the 2009 is quite clearly the best Giscours that we have tasted since the legendary 1970. It has a big, bold masculine structure, ripe tannins and a rich, voluptuous mid-palate. Generous, powerful dark cassis fruit with beautiful balance. Given that Robert Parker rates this the finest Giscours that he has ever tasted and concludes his note with a "Bravo!", his score seems a little mean. There are good notes from Mssrs Suckling, Spurrier and Atkin.

 

"This is the finest Giscours I have tasted in my professional career. Succulent and sexy with an inky/purple color, it offers sweet aromas of subtle barbecue smoke, graphite, blackberries, blueberries, and spring flowers. The tannins are remarkably sweet, substantial, and well-integrated, and the wine is full-bodied as well as voluptuously textured. It is a head-turning, exuberant, flashy effort that should drink well for 20-25 years. Bravo! 91-93." Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

 

"Subtle and pretty on the nose, with blueberry, blackberry and hints of flowers. Full and very fine, showing a beautiful texture of polished tannins. Wonderfully long and balanced. 53 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 7 percent Cabernet Franc, and the rest is Merlot. 92-95." James Suckling, Wine Advocate

"Fine black red, very expressive black fruits with the elegant lift from Cabernet, fine density of fruit, very good natural middle sweetness and lots of depth and vineyard character, a very good wine. Drink 2015-25. 18 points." Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com

 

"A wine that continues the impressive progress made at Giscours over the last decade or so, this is on the rich side for a Margaux, but none the worse for that. Soft, rich and yet quite forward, with good concentration, well-integrated tannins, red and black fruits and an undertone of liquorice. Another wine that should be reasonably priced and will provide superb drinking in future. 15+ years. 94 points." Tim Atkin MW

 

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Now we have a wine that we really adored in 2009. Haut Batailley have made the finest wine that we have ever tasted from this property. And that's not "possibly the finest", that's "definitely the finest"! At £285 this classic classed growth Pauillac will prove to be one of the best values of the vintage.

Haut Batailley is the sister-Chateau of Grand Puy Lacoste and made by Xavier Borie. When the Cabernet Sauvignon is fully ripe here (as it most definitely is in 2009) this Chateau makes its best wine. Cabernet is nearly 80% of the blend in 2009 and consequently this wine exhibits all the classic hallmarks of great Pauillac with cigar box, cedar and cassis notes. This is terrific stuff, punching well above its weight. With the Pauillac super-seconds rumoured to be set for record prices in 2009, this is a real claret for real claret drinkers at the top of its game and offered at a very fair price.

 

We feel that Robert Parker has under-estimated 09 Haut Batailley (maybe that explains the reasonable price!) but the British critics were seriously impressed. Jancis Robinson scores it the equal of Lynch Bages and Pichon Lalande, Steven Spurrier rates it a whopping 17.5/20, Tim Atkin is at 93 points and Neal Martin 92-94. We Brits all love it! An en primeur to buy with confidence.

 

"A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, picked between 26th September until 7th October. This Haut-Batailley has a tight, quite elegant nose, pert black fruits, blackberry leaf, a touch of sous-bois, graphite, a hint of undergrowth. It needs time to expand and blossom in the glass. The palate is very fresh with fine tannins, surfeit with coiled energy, the finish very vibrant, slightly Oriental with faint hints of Hoi Sin and even a touch of yellow plum. Very harmonious on the finish. Excellent…it reminds me of the superb '06. 92-94" Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com

 

"Dense red, big smoky cassis Cabernet Sauvignon nose, has seductive charm, great length and firm finish, a lovely wine. 17.5" Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com

 

"François-Xavier Borie reduced the percentage of Merlot from 30% to 20% in 2009 to retain freshness and structure in the resulting wine. There's a lot of new oak here at the moment, but more than enough cassis and black cherry fruit to balance it. Good length. Fine tannins. 15+ years. 93 points." Tim Atkin MW

 

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It's Northern Medoc day today with the release of probably the two best-known Chateaux situated above Saint Estephe at the top of the Medoc appellation. Chateau Potensac is owned by the Delons of Léoville Lascases and is a very popular and reliable Cru Bourgeois that has many loyal followers. Always a classic claret with good structure and weight, but in 2009 it has something extra and Robert Parker states that this is probably the finest Potensac ever made. It also scores an impressive 17 points from Jancis Robinson. At £180 it won't break the bank to buy a few cases. This seems like a good deal in 2009.

 

"A sleeper of the vintage, the 2009 is probably the finest Potensac ever made, eclipsing even the stunning 1982. This blend, dominated by both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, hit 13.9% alcohol, but the pH is a normal 3.58. Dense, rich, and full-bodied with lots of freshness, the wine reveals abundant red and black currant fruit, a distinctive minerality, and a plush, full-bodied mouthfeel. It should drink well for 10-15+ years. Robert Parker added an asterisk to this wine score to signify that it is a wine he considers has the finest potential of all the offerings he has ever tasted from this estate in nearly 32 years of barrel tasting samples in Bordeaux. 89-91." Robert Parker, Wine Advocate.

 

"Very deep crimson. Minerals and great ripeness. But very much restrained by a corset of structure. Great lift and pzazz. Not at all a country wine, not too chewy. But very serious. This has a really long term future. 17 points." Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com

 

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Chateau Sociando Mallet is widely regarded as being at the top of the waiting list should the classed growths of Bordeaux ever wish to recruit a new member. This is always a "vin de garde" with serious concentration and quite ruthless tannins. A big wine that needs time to evolve. The 2009 is certainly no shrinking violet! However at £315 it is actually more expensive than our current price for the 2005 (which seems a mistake to us) so this is probably one for committed Sociando fans only.

 

"Ferocious tannins are not unusual for Sociando Mallet, but I was surprised that in a vintage that produced exceptionally tannic, but ripe wines, the Sociando Mallet tannins were atypically austere. Nevertheless, the wine boasts huge concentration along with an inky/purple color, a full-bodied, powerful palate, and a long finish. Excellent purity, density, and minerality are present in this cuvee, and it is capable of lasting 30-40 years. This estate is situated on some of the finest terroir of the Haut-Medoc, near Calon-Segur in St.-Estephe. 90-92+" Robert Parker, Wine Advocate