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Malartic Lagravière 2009

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Malartic Lagravière

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Tasting Notes

Probably the best wine that has come from this estate, along with their 2005, the final blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot boasts Michel Rolland as the consulting oenologist. This organically farmed vineyard has turned out a deeply layered wine with a striking perfume of graphite, wet stones, red and black currants, tobacco leaf and underbrush. The compelling aromatics are followed by a medium-bodied but intensely concentrated wine with loads of ripe fruit, plenty of glycerin (14% natural alcohol) and a long, nuanced, impressively endowed finish. Accessible already, this wine should continue to drink well for 15 or more years.

92+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (199), March 2012

Intense aromas of licorice, tar and spices, with plenty of fruit. Full, thick and powerful, with soft, round tannins and a fruity finish. Could use a little more fruit center palate, but this is very good.

89/92
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, April 2010

Tasted blind. Dark blackish crimson. Rather low-key smudgy nose. Round and flattering in an Ornellaia sort of way. Very glamorous. Just a tiny bit overripe perhaps but still fairly appetising. Thick, sweet and inky with good concentration. Long.
Drink 2019-2033

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2019

Black red, superbly concentrated purity of cassis fruit, then fragrant and slightly smoky lift, freshness runs through the precise intensity of vineyard fruit, a brilliantly expressed and focussed wine that needs time to open up. Drink 2018-35.

18
Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com, April 2010

Great cassis nose that's so fresh and vibrant for 10 years of age, then comes the crisp, dry palate where there's easily enough substance to make a harmonious package. With a little more polish at the finish this would rate even higher. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

94
Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, March 2019
Read more tasting notes...

Progress has been ongoing at this vineyard, but proprietor Alexandre Bonnie has hit the proverbial home runs in 2009 with both his red and white wines. The best Malartic Lagraviere I have ever tasted, the 2009 is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Cropped at a low 32 hectoliters per hectare, with a modest (by the standards of this vintage) 13.5% alcohol, the wine-s opaque purple color is accompanied by an unctuous texture, extraordinary elegance, lots of licorice, graphite, blueberry, black raspberry, and cherry characteristics, full body, terrific purity and length, and good acidity. This 2009 should easily evolve for 25-30+ years. Bravo! (Tasted four times.) Drink 2010-2040.

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+
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188), April 2010

Tasted at a negociant. There is a lot of vanillary oak on the nose here, but there is sufficient fruit to support is: blackberry, Morello, a touch of black olive and violet. The palate is assertive on the entry, the tannins a little abrasive at the moment and flirting with astringency on the finish. Rather tough and unyielding at the moment: hopefully this will soften by the time of bottling. However, they seem to have extracted just a little greenness that marks the finish. Tasted April 2010.

86/88
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2010

59% Cabernet Sauvignon picked on 24 Sep to 8 Oct, 38% Merlot picked on 9 Oct and 15% Petit Verdot picked on 8 Oct. Very dark purple. A little overripe note on the nose with a hint of drying oak on the finish. Just very slightly inky on the finish. I'm sure this will settle down eventually.

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2010
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.