The 2009 Bettina Bryant is a striking wine graced with exquisite aromatics and beautifully delineated fruit. It is a bit darker, firmer and more inward than the Bryant Cabernet Sauvignon. Espresso, spices, black cherries, tobacco,... Read More
Deep ruby-red. Musky, complex nose combines redcurrant, flowers, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and spices. Then wonderfully intense and voluptuous, saturating the entire palate with dark fruit, spice and saline mineral flavors.... Read More
Considered by Paul-Vincent to be a hypothetical blend of the '05 and the '07, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape was showing its Mourvedre component on this occasion and had lots of kirsch, spice-box, dried flowers, Provencal... Read More
Composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2009 IX Estate exhibits a flowery bouquet with notes of subtle smoke, blackberries, black currants, kirsch and baking spices. Rich, deep... Read More
The 2009 Maya (67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc) has opened-up considerably and is much more showy than I would have expected. It exhibits notes of sweet creme de cassis, camphor, bouquet garni, spice box and a hint... Read More
Slightly reduced aromas of cassis, violet, licorice and graphite. Dense but lively, with blackcurrant and blackberry syrup flavors complicated and lifted by licorice, minerals and violet. The sweet, broad, long finish really perks... Read More
The 2009 Proprietary Blend Harlan Estate is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Cloves, dark plums, cherries, smoke and graphite add richness and resonance to this powerful, incisive wine. Juicy and exuberant,... Read More
WA 95 (12/2012): A gorgeous, totally voluptuous wine, the 2009 Insignia bursts from the glass with exuberant blue and black fruit, grilled herbs, cloves and cassis. In 2009, the Insignia is silky and polished, yet there is considerable... Read More
(made from 83% cabernet sauvignon, 15% sangiovese and 2% zinfandel): Opaque ruby. Intensely perfumed, fruit-dominated bouquet evokes candied red and dark berries, anise and mocha, with a peppery topnote. Sappy and expansive on... Read More
A blend of 66% Shiraz and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2009 Enchanted Path was matured in 97% American and 3% French oak, 85% new and 15% one year. Very deep garnet-purple, it has a great intensity of cassis, blackberry, violet... Read More
The bottled 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee is as compelling as I thought it would be after tasting it last year. A blend of 85% Grenache with the rest Syrah, Mourvedre and small dollops of the other authorized varietals,... Read More
The 2009 L'Esprit des Pavots (47% Cabernet Franc, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Merlot) is a much smaller cuvee of 1,540 cases. One of the best second wines I have tasted from this winery, it offers... Read More
The 2009 Monte Bello ,72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot is simply magnificent. Layers of dark red fruit, flowers, spices and graphite are all woven together in this utterly impeccable wine. The 2009 is an... Read More
The 2009 La Joie (14.5% natural alcohol, and a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec) boasts an opaque purple color along with abundant notes of wood spice, barbecued... Read More
Another big red is the 2009 Le Desir, a blend of 74% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. The densest, most tannic, and most forbiddingly backward of the 2009s, it exhibits an inky/purple color along... Read More