1 | Wine | Haut-medoc, 2009

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker

"This has a nice warm feel, with plush roasted coffee bean, steeped plum and fig fruit flavors melding through the tobacco-filled finish."

"Sports a rather overt toasted spice and fruitcake profile, with ripe blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry notes backed by more toast and anise on the finish. Shows harmony despite the overt style, but this is a touch shy on length and purity for outstanding."
-Wine Spectator - 89 pts

"In a somewhat tragic twist, this over-achieving cru bourgeois in Haut-Medoc has turned in its finest wine to date, an unfined cuvee made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot, created by the late proprietor Vincent Mulliez, who died suddenly last year. Sadly, this was his best effort. Notes of blackberries, black currants, licorice and a hint of toasty oak jump from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, well-endowed, impressively pure and textured wine. It should drink nicely for up to a decade."-Robert Parker

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker

"The finest La Bernadotte made to date, this 2009 is an undeniable sleeper of the vintage... It reveals a dense purple color along with a big, sweet kiss of black cherries, black currants, charcoal, and spice. With layers of fruit, decent acidity, freshness, and precision, and an opulent, fleshy, succulent style, it should drink easily for a decade or more."-Robert Parker

"Another of my favorite estates from the southern part of the Medoc, Macau, this Haut-Medoc cru bourgeois is a blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. The alcohol was 14% and the wine bottled unfined and unfiltered by its consulting oenologist, the brilliant Claude Gros. Wonderfully dark ruby/purple in color, with loads of sweet berry fruit as well as hints of licorice and charcoal, the wine displays a lush texture, medium to full body, and the vintage’s tell-tale ripeness, high glycerin and silky texture. Drink it over the next 5-6 years."-Robert Parker

"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."-Robert Parker

"This dense purple wine displays notes of charcoal, subtle toast and white chocolate as well as blueberry and blackberry liqueur intermixed with hints of graphite and licorice. Dense, full-bodied, unctuously textured, and quite long and thick, this concentrated, impressively endowed wine is silky-textured and already accessible. However, I suspect its best days are at least 5-7 years ahead of it. It should keep for a minimum of two decades."-Robert Parker