1 | Wine | Bordeaux, Unrated, 2009

"It is certainly a good wine, with notes of chocolate, mocha and espresso as well as hints of mulberries and black cherries, but it is nowhere near the level of concentration the barrel sample had suggested. This blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc is medium-bodied deep plum/ruby in color, and best drunk over the next 7-8 years." -Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 89 pts.

"Lighter-bodied, with a racy edge to the Damson plum and bitter cherry notes, flecked with grilled herb and framed by judicious toast. A touch loose in the end." Wine Spectator, 88 pts.

"This is a gorgeous effort, made from a blend of 80% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Cropped at 22 hectoliters per hectare from their clay over limestone soils, the wine displays oodles of new oak, crushed chalk, and blueberry and blackberry fruit with hints of raspberries and pen ink. It is full-bodied and layered, with a fleshy, even succulent mid-palate and a long, long finish. This is terrific Castillon to drink over the next 10-15+ years." -Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 93 pts.

"Blackberry and mineral aromas follow through to a medium to full body, with firm tannins and a spicy, berry and coffee bean finish." -Wine Spectator, 87-90 pts.

"On the taut side, with mulled fig and black currant fruit framed with a thick layer of roasted tobacco and allied to an austere, chalky finish."

"Sweet mouth attack, structured with a lot of fat, tannins well-balanced and flexible. The finish is long with a good aromatic persistence on ripe fruits and with roast notes."