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Potensac 2009

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Médoc
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Potensac

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2009 Potensac has an attractive bouquet with blackberry, melted tar, black tea and graphite scents. Nicely defined it maybe a little conservative given the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity. Classic in style with fine graphite and cedar notes towards the finish. Enjoy this now and over the next decade. 2021 - 2035.

92
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2019

Drinking at point now, but with another decade of life ahead of it, the 2009 Château Potensac offers a classic, mature nose of red and black currants, cedary herbs, tobacco, and flowers. It shows the ripe, powerful style of the vintage yet has remarkable freshness, ripe, polished tannins, a kick of minerality, and a great finish. Beautifully done, you'll be happy if you have bottles of this in the cellar.

91
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2020

This fairly priced Medoc from Jean-Hubert Delon (the proprietor of Leoville-Las-Cases) has hit almost 14% natural alcohol and looks to be the best wine made at this estate since 1982, which drank well for 15 years and cost about $4.00 a bottle in that era. Crisp, mineral notes intermixed with mulberry, black cherry and black currant fruit jump from the glass of this classic Bordeaux, which is both powerful and elegant. There is considerable substance to the wine, with its attractive texture and overall sense of precision and elegance. This is a sleeper of the vintage not to be missed. Anticipated maturity: now-2022.

89
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (199), March 2012

Intense aromas of currant and blackberry, with hints of licorice, follow through to a full body, with a balance of tannins and a spearmint and mineral aftertaste

87/90
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2010

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Potensac features warm redcurrants, black raspberries, dusty earth and dried Mediterranean herbs scents with a touch of cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, juicy and plush with nice freshness, it is sitting in a drinking window sweet-spot right now. 2019 - 2025

89
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2019), March 2019

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. Date tasted 31st March 2010. Drink 2018-2030.

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2010

Well structured, Englishman's claret. Classic balance and bright acidity from this Northern Medoc property owned by Leoville Lascases. A real food wine and a fine Potensac, focussed and balanced.

90
Farr Vintners, April 2010

Sweet upfront black fruits give some weight to both nose and palate refreshed by the fresher bilberry and black cherry that appear at the back. The tannins are well handled give support but not aggression. Drink 2016-2040.

88/92
Derek Smedley MW, April 2010

Dense red, fine floral concentration, very good Médoc with depth, length and class. Drink 2014-18.

16+
Steven Spurrier, Decanter.com, April 2010

Maybe this isn't quite as stunning as the brilliant 2010 Potensac, but it’s a ripe and very classic Médoc with great cassis fruit, medium body and supple tannins making for a very flexible food wine. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

92
Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, March 2019
Read more tasting notes...

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. (Tasted once.) Drink 2010-2025.

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 (188), April 2010

A blend of 48% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with 7.3% vin de presse, delivering 13.9% alcohol, this has a ripe blackberry nose with raspberry, kirsch, a touch of cassis and cedar, all cloaked in warm alcohol. The palate is full-bodied with ripe, slightly chewy tannins, very good weight, certainly more complexity that recent vintages, well defined towards the finish and coping with that alcohol adeptly. This is a better Potensac than in recent years but still a little "conservative" in style. Tasted March 2010.

90/92
Neal Martin, RobertParker.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.