A Test Of Greatness: 2009 Bordeaux Ten Years On

BY NEAL MARTIN | MARCH 14, 2019

Introduction

Excitement hung heavy in the air and winemakers wore Cheshire cat grins when I tasted the 2009s from barrel almost 10 years ago. Everyone knew they were in the presence of a great vintage. Even with the wines’ umbilical cords attached, nobody who attended primeurs that year will forget the seductive intensity of fruit and the luscious textures. Two thousand and nine was born Rubenesque. Its greatness would not be determined by performances in the primeur circus, with its jugglers and clowns; instead, the real litmus test would be how the wines evolved in bottle. A truly great vintage does not sprint out of the blocks and then trip over its shoelaces after a few strides. Nor does it necessarily have to be a marathon runner – i.e., undrinkable for the first few decades. In my book, a prerequisite for greatness is “satisfying longevity,” manifesting entrancing secondary aromas and flavors gently sculpted by time, and translating the nuances of terroir both inter-appellation and inter-château. These are the dividends for wine lovers patiently cellaring their bottles. A great vintage should look down imperiously upon other growing seasons and gracefully demonstrate what superiority means.

Tasting the 2009s at en primeur. This was at one of the UGC trade tastings where I slip in to make last-minute checks. Slovenly dressed as usual. Photo copyright Johan Berglund.

Since tasting the wines from barrel, I have monitored their progress, reexamining them just after bottling and again a year later, this time blind at the annual Southwold tasting and subsequently as essential parts of numerous château verticals. I always felt that the crucial test would be when the wines reached 10 years of age. By then, 2009 would begin to clarify where it stands among the pantheon of recent vintages, prove how the wines were evolving and signpost where they might be heading.

It is impossible to write meaningfully about the 2009 Bordeaux vintage without briefly mentioning Robert Parker. Terroir, growing season, technology and winemaker all determined its intrinsic quality, but the reputation of 2009 is predominantly the result of Parker’s unbridled enthusiasm upon their release. Consequently, there is an unusual weight of expectation behind the vintage, and yet expectation must be put to one side in order to objectively answer the simple question: How are the 2009s evolving?