The 2009 Cantenac Brown does not quite deliver the complexity or breeding of the 2010 when compared directly, yet it is still attractive with strawberry and raspberry fruit, iodine and light marine scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine sappiness on the entry, spicier than the 2010, lively with just a little less precision displayed on the finish; notes of tea leaf and white pepper linger on the finish. This will drink sooner than the 2010 but should give 20-30 years drinking fulfilment. Tasted at the Cantenac Brown vertical at the château. Oct 2022

Tasted twice in Bordeaux, I must say that whatever was shown to me in cask certainly did not appear to be performing as well from bottle. It could be just that the wine has closed down, but I had thought this was an extraordinary wine and one of the big time sleepers of the vintage. The tannins have taken hold, and although the wine is still outstanding, any hopes of achieving a mid-90 point score, as I had hoped, seem highly questionable. Dense ruby/purple with notes of graphite, blackberries and forest floor, the wine is full-bodied, powerful, excruciatingly tannic and closed, and that may be why it’s not showing as well as I predicted. Certainly, this was the biggest discrepancy between barrel and bottle that I saw in the vintage, but the wine is still outstanding, just not profound. It will be interesting to revisit this wine in a number of years. Forget it for 7-8 years and drink it over the following 30.

Full ruby-red. Brooding aromas of blackberry, espresso and licorice complicated by truffley underbrush. Then intensely flavored, juicy and tight, dominated today by its firm tannic spine and sound acidity. Quite primary in a positive way, this rather backward wine may merit a 90-point rating with five or six years of cellaring.

Opaque inky-purple. Flamboyant, exotic nose offers aromas of superripe black fruits, smoked meat, coffee and dark chocolate liqueur. Then very ripe and soft in style, with creamy flavors of ripe dark fruits supported by soft, polished tannins. Finishes moderately long, with a lingering floral note. Tasted three different times with different impressions, hence the wider-than-usual scoring range.

Tasted blind. Dark glowing crimson. Sweet and round start and then correct and just drying a little bit on the end of the palate. Desperately needs food. (JR)