Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 30/04/2012
The 2009 Bonnes-Mares is quite big and powerful yet also possesses a seamlessness that is very 2009. Waves of black fruit, spices, menthol and licorice saturate the palate as this large-scaled, dramatic wine opens up in the glass. The Bonnes-Mares boasts a tremendous combination of fruit and sheer structure. The 2009 is more approachable than the 2010 and nearly as dazzling. It will still require quite a bit of time, however, readers need to be patient. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2039.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 02/05/2011
The 2009 Bonnes Mares offers up blackberries, dark cherries and spices along with a totally sensual, inviting personality. The wine possesses gorgeous aromatic delineation and freshness, not to mention tremendous purity in its fruit. The balance of fruit, acidity and tannin is superb. De Vogue’s vineyards in Bonnes Mares are on the clay-rich terres rouges, which always results in a more overt, fruit-forward style of Bonnes Mares. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

The 2009 Bonnes-Mares is quite big and powerful yet also possesses a seamlessness that is very 2009. Waves of black fruit, spices, menthol and licorice saturate the palate as this large-scaled, dramatic wine opens up in the glass. The Bonnes-Mares boasts a tremendous combination of fruit and sheer structure. The 2009 is more approachable than the 2010 and nearly as dazzling. It will still require quite a bit of time, however, readers need to be patient.

This is very deeply colored. A notably riper nose of kirsch, spice and earth plus an herbal hint that is also picked up by the powerful and tautly muscled broad-shouldered flavors that possess buckets of extract that buffer the very firm tannins that impart a dusty texture on the superbly long finish. This intensely floral effort is presently quite austere but it has everything that it needs to be great in time. In a word, sensational. Drink: 2024+
-Burghound.com, Issue 45. Tasted: Jan 10, 2012

Good full, bright red. Reduced, musky aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, smoke, menthol and game. Dense, sweet and large-scaled, in a deceptively gentle style for young Bonnes-Mares. Turned creamier and more saline in the glass. Finishes with big, rich tannins and strong notes of spices, mocha and chocolate. I predict this will shut down in the bottle quite soon and benefit from a decade of aging.

The 2009 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is poured from magnum by estate manager Jean-Luc Pepin. There's light bricking on the rim. It has attractive red berry fruit on the nose, with leather, mulch and a light camphor note in the background. The palate is well-balanced with moderate depth. The secondary notes deliver light, meaty elements and white pepper. It is quintessential de Vogüé style from the Millet era, quite bold, not unattractive, though perhaps missing the élan of a truly great Bonnes-Mares. Tasted and The Fine Wine Experience's La Paulée dinner at 1243 Club in Beaune.