A tasting at La Mission Haut-Brion tends, I find, to engender a gentle sense of piety. The tiny waiting room downstairs, lined entirely with wood panelling and with wooden benches along several of the four walls, is very like a church antechamber. It is a place to gather and compose yourself before entering the confessional, no doubt to pour out your sins; your hidden lust for Californian Cabernets, and those inappropriate thoughts about Burgundy you had last week, perhaps. That this is so should perhaps not be such a surprise; after all, La Mission was indeed donated to the Catholic church in 1664 by Catherine de Mullet, and there has been a chapel on the estate since 1698.

But perhaps such a pious state of mind is truly warranted. After all this wait precedes an opportunity to taste not only La Mission, but also stable-mate Haut-Brion, the two second wines Le Clarence and La Chapelle, as well as the white wines. Altogether there were seven wines presented this year, which you would think would provide adequate scope for confusion. Not enough scope for Jean-Philippe Delmas and team, however, who have - following on from the renaming of Bahans-Haut-Brion (now Le Clarence) in the 2007 vintage, and the disappearance of La Tour Haut-Brion in 2005 - now changed things around even further. The biggest news is that Laville-Haut-Brion is no more; this cuvée has been rechristened La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, which according to Haut-Brion PR-queen Turid Hoed Alcaras was a prior (and therefore valid) name dating to the 1920s. And the second white wine, taking fruit from Haut-Brion and La Mission and previously called Les Plantiers is now going by the name of Clarté. As in clarity, apparently. Well, I suppose the intentions were good!

Bordeaux 2009 So what of these seven wines? The whites are easy to describe; although not a vintage of universally fresh acidity in the white wines, this trio all showed very well. The reds gave me more cause for concern though, as they did not show quite how I expected. The second wines were fine, not particularly exciting but certainly attractive. And La Mission also showed very well indeed, very much in keeping with its status. For me, though, Haut-Brion itself was not quite the exquisite wonder that it perhaps should have been.

It is vital that this comment is taken in context; the 2009 from Haut-Brion is a great wine. I have scored it highly, and I can see from emerging opinions - appearing more timely than ever this year with online debate in several fora already ongoing, and of course live reports via Twitter - that some others rate the wine very highly indeed, with a number suggesting it as a candidate for wine of the vintage. But to my palate it did not appear this way. Although clearly of high quality, and very skilfully made, the 2009 Haut-Brion did not show the extra dimension that pushes a wine into the vintage-defining league. And in comparison to the other first growths - which were as a group incredibly precise in their lines, except perhaps the rather more flashy Mouton - the wine showed a less fine definition, less vigour and spark. But let us not focus in only on this hair-splitting criticism; this is an extremely good wine which may just need more time to integrate, and I look forward to tasting it again - even though that might not be until 2013.

What of the rest of the commune, the wines that might perhaps be that little less stratospheric in terms of price? Haut-Bailly is the star here amongst the reds. A wine which in antiquity was often considered the equal of Médoc first growths, this year it is not that far behind them. The occasionally maligned Pape-Clément also showed well, along with a good number of other labels.

The tasting notes presented here are collated from a number of tastings, at the UGC event hosted as ever by Smith-Haut-Lafitte (could some of the other estates not take a turn at playing this role, I wonder?), also as discussed above at La Mission Haut-Brion, and finally during a visit to Haut-Bailly (although I had already tasted this latter wine at Smith-Haut-Lafitte and formed my opinion there. None were tasted blind. As a final point I must stress the importance, if a purchase is being considered, of reading the notes and not just the scores. This is a vintage where many wines, whilst well made and displaying sweet fruit and plentiful tannin and worthy of a good score, may not appeal to many based on their atypical nature. (8/4/10)

Pessac-Léognan 2009: Tasting Notes

Tasted in Bordeaux in March 2010. Click to locate stockists.

White Wines

Château Brown Blanc 2009: This is 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillon. Fresh, bright, citrusy, with elements of creamy white fruit redolent of pear and sweet apple. Supple and a touch waxy on the palate, very broad, with deliciously bright fruit and fresh and lively acidity, all culminating in a good, pithy finish. 17-18+/20

Château Couhins Blanc 2009: Fresh and rather chalky here, crunchy and stony on the nose. Rather a crisp style on the palate, only moderate concentration of fruit, clean and rather stony in character. Nice acid seam running behind it all, but for me it lacks fruit impact and concentration. 15-16+/20

Château Haut-Brion Blanc 2009: No name change here - so at least I come to this wine less confused than with some! The blend here is different to the other white Haut-Brion wines, with 62% Sauvignon Blanc and 38% Semillon (the latter dominates in the others). Beautifully ripe pears and passion fruit on the nose here, fine and exotic but well framed. Appealingly fresh and yet substantial on the palate, characterful, fleshy but with vigour and direction. Creamed fruit with a lovely core of pith and lively fruit flesh, wonderfully defined and vivacious and also broad and clean. Delicious wine which would be very easy to drink now. 18-19+/20

La Clarté de Haut-Brion 2009: The new name for Les Plantiers, the common second wine to La Mission and Haut-Brion Blanc. This is 84% Semillon and 16% Sauvignon Blanc. Beautifully fresh, slightly watery fruit here but with a very clean pear and freshly cut apple character. Nice palate, gentle substance, moderate acidity and slightly plump flavours. Some grip underneath, nicely done overall although not that exciting. Could be good value though. 15.5-16.5+/20

Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2009: A slightly grassy nose here, with aromas of plum and greengage, with a touch of yellow capsicum, certainly a fresh style. Nice fatness on the palate, succulent and rich, slightly soft acidity though. Lots of supple fruit, very attractive, but not the fresh structure or zip of the best vintages, and not the most appealing Sauvignon-heavy aromatics either. 15.5-16.5+/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2009: This wine has a wealth of fresh fruit on the nose, lightly peppery, with a nicely vibrant feel. There is good definition at the start, good substance too. Creamed yellow plum, bright and fresh. Fair acidity here, behind the softly polished and fleshy fruit. Overall, a decent effort. 16-17+/20

Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2009: This is the new name for Laville Haut-Brion, apparently this being the original name dating from the 1920s. The blend is 84% Semillon and 16% Sauvignon Blanc. Pure cream and passion fruit here, brighter and with greater depth than la Clarté (the second wine to this and Haut-Brion Blanc). The palate has an immediate and vigorous impact, brilliant freshness, supple but with lovely substance and life. Good pithy core, good acidity underpinning it too, fresh and harmonious. The best whites in this vintage combine fresh structure with opulence, and this is one of them. Very good indeed. 17.5-18.5+/20

Château Pape-Clément Blanc 2009: This is 48% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, 6% Sauvignon Gris and 6% Muscadelle. Wow - this has a gorgeous nose, showing intense pear and sweet apple and mango character. This is lovely. A superbly concentrated palate right at the top end, with lots of succulent texture, good substance, with fresh acidity too. Delicious, intense, with a structured and rather pithy finish. A fine effort, but of course this sample has yet to undergo its oak élevage. I am sure it will have a very different character when it shows up at the UGC tasting next year. 18-19+/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2009: Great fruit character here, ripe and open as is often the case with this estate since the Cathiards took control, with some exotic tinges to it as well. A soft style on the palate though, lovely fleshy and creamy fruit, broad with great depth and a gritty substance. There is a decent acid core to it as well. An impressive structure here. Very good. 17.5-18.5+/20

Domaine de Solitude Blanc 2009: There is crisp yellow fruit here, a nice substance, and a moderate concentration. On the palate it has a yellow plum pithiness, with notes of white pepper and gentle spice. Attractive, but not the suppleness of some wines, nor the depth, and rather a solid style overall. 15-16+/20

Red Wines

Château Brown 2009: This is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and it has a dark, black-crimson hue. The fruit character is fresh, intense and crunchy, with a dark and smoky, crystalline blackcurrant element to it. A good fresh style on the palate, an appealing substance around a core of supple tannins. Ripe but crunchy-stony, with a nice purity, this is a very good vintage for Brown which will likely offer good value. 16.5-17.5+/20

Château Cantelys 2009: A moderate depth of colour here. The nose is fresh, lightly perfumed, with ripe but rather chalky, violet-tinged fruit. Lots of substance on the palate, with rather a firm outer shell. It seems rather solid in style, possessing lots of substance and concentration, ripe but lacking the vigour of the best wines. The texture seems somewhat influenced by alcohol which gives a note of concern. 15-16+/20

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2009: This vintage has a glossy, dark cherry red appearance. In terms of aroma its character is very dark, a touch reticent, but perfumed, with a crystalline edge to it. Here the sweetness, ripeness and depth is accompanied by a sense of purity. A fresh style on the palate, especially considering the dark and broad character on the nose. Wonderful breadth, over a good core of firm tannins. These have a slightly more chewy style, and there is also more concentration and extraction here than in some of its peers, but for Les Carmes I think this is fine. It culminates in a long, tannin-infused finish. Very good potential. 17.5-18.5+/20

Domaine de Chevalier 2009: This wine has a dark and creamy, cherry red hue. A beautifully crisp aromatic definition here, with more obvious perfume and more vibrant, crunchy fruit aromatics then some of its peers. Nevertheless, the fruit does have a very ripe-rich profile with mulberry and dark red cherry. The same freshness is found on the palate, which has beautifully clean lines, elegant and more gently fleshy than some. The midpalate shows lovely breadth though, with a good backbone of ripe and grainy tannins. Sweetness and freshness combined here. This should be popular with fans of this domaine. 17.5-18.5+/20

Château de Fieuzal 2009: Another incredibly dark wine, with a creamy-glossy appearance. Intense, sweet and velvety fruit on the nose, with a dark black character, notes of warm tar and flower petals. This just oozes richness and sweetness, but it has a good floral character as well. Nicely poised on entry, although with a very sweet and rich substance. The tannins have a svelte, cottony character, and most surprisingly amongst all the exuberance there is good acidity too. This helps the wine to maintain a sense of vigour, even with its sweet, tannin-loaded finish. This, especially for de Fieuzal, is a prodigious wine. 17.5-18.5+/20

Château Haut-Bailly 2009: Tasted twice, at the UGC tasting and at the château. Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 37% and Cabernet Franc 3%, all fermented at 26°C, cooler than usual, a response to the massive presence of tannins in this vintage. IPT 70, 55% new barrels, alcohol well controlled at 13.4%. A very dark and concentrated hue here. The nose has a warm style of fruit, with a macerated cherry and red-black forest fruit character, although it has perfume too, with some floral elements peeping through the dark exuberance. The palate kicks off in a very ripe and soft style, although richly imbued with tannins, which have a velvety, fur-coat-feel to them. Rich, creamed, honeyed fruit, fresh, the tannins prodigious but very much in harmony with the wine. Fresher on the palate than I expected from the nose though, with quite vigorous acidity balancing out the warm piles of substance. Elegant despite all that texture underneath. Perfumed finish. And it is incredibly long. This is monumental, especially so for Haut-Bailly. Could be a great wine given cellar time. 18-19+/20

Château Haut-Brion 2009: The blend here is 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol 14.3%, the highest ever figure (2005 in second place with 14%). Accounts for 57% of the harvest. A darker hue than Le Clarence, and a darker rim. Reticent on the nose, sweet but dusty at the same time. The fruit character although very restrained has a plump, plum and damson character to it, and although very ripe it doesn't move into the raisined spectrum, but it does have a faint edge of alcohol-macerated cherry - just a whisper, but it is there. Very soft and sweet on the start, full and very creamy, seems almost top-heavy at first. The texture is really quite fat, with some vibrantly peppery acidity cutting down the core of the wine. There is a lot of substance and spice here, with a very soft feel that doesn't quite have enough focus to please, possibly a warm-vintage Merlot effect? Perhaps with élevage this will come together and tighten up, but right now I don't find it as convincing as I think I should. Nevertheless it is a very good wine, but I recall finding the 2008 more convincing than this when I tasted it last year. 18-19+/20

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2009: This is the second wine of Haut-Brion, and is 46% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Alcohol 14%. Appealing hue. Youthful rim. The nose has well honed fruit, clean and reserved, with a touch of smoky depth. Elegant texture on entry, very supple in style, then the tannins come in. These have a grainy character, giving a feeling of backbone to the wine. The acidity is on the subtle side, although there is plenty of peppery grip and vigour, and an appealing, straight-cut line to it. Well framed, with a fair length. 16-17+/20

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2009: Very dark and concentrated, with a deep purple-black hue. Sweet fruit on the nose, but quite polished and firm in style rather than bright or lifted. The palate kicks off with a rather fresh character, but then there is a lot of alcohol showing through. An intense substance, thick-chewy tannins and good acidity too, but the alcohol over-rides all in this sample. 14-15+/20

Château Latour-Martillac 2009: A vibrant hue in the glass here, with a cherry red rim around a darker core. The nose has some good and fresh fruit, fine aromatics and a cleanly presented style. On the palate, solid fruit at first, a supple style overall though, but there is a lot of structure here. Slightly chewy tannins but a nice acid backbone to keep it fresh, which is a welcome characteristic in this vintage. Nicely done, but certainly a very ripe style of wine that will not appeal to all. 17-18+/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2009: A very dark and creamy appearance to this wine, with intensely creamed fruit on the nose also, and a vibrant and yet sweet macerated-cherry character. The palate is cool and defined on entry, showing more bold substance in the midpalate. It remains well defined and vigorous though, with a good substance through to the end. The tannins build in the midpalate, showing a more chewy character towards the finish, and moderate acidity cutting through underneath. Lots of substance here. Very good, but again this is certainly a very ripe style of wine that will not appeal to all. 16.5-17.5+/20

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2009: This is 47% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 6% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol 14.7% (2005 was previously the highest at 14.2%). Accounts for 57% of the harvest. A less vibrant hue than La Chapelle, concentrated and a little deeper in colour, and rather like Haut-Brion today it is not being so expressive. But there is a savoury edge to what fruit it presents, and the substance on the palate is just lovely, broad and sweetly fruited, with exotic cherry, plum and damson notes. This is fresh, perfumed too, with floral notes, delicious style backed up by svelte tannins which coat the mouth with a velvety skin, and alongside some delicious acidity. This should be delicious. 18-19+/20

La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 2009: The second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion, this is 44% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol 14.2%. A crimson hue here, with a thin pink-blue rim. The nose is expressive, full of direct and dark fruit, fresh and crisp and vibrant, tinged with spice and charcoal. A very cool style on the palate, well framed, gently textured, with a supple ever-so-slightly chalky edge to the ripe, raspberry and cherry fruit. Again lots of lively structure here, very svelte tannins and good, direct acidity. Soft and supple in keeping with the vintage, but with grip beneath. Lots of structure in the finish. 16-17+/20

Château Olivier 2009: This wine has a dark purple core with a pink-blue rim. The nose offers crushed blackcurrants and damson fruit here, rather crystalline, fresh with some graphite notes too. It has a rather soft style on entry, somewhat unfocused, with the midpalate showing a hot character tinged with whisky notes. Powerful, but rather rustic with it, without the sweet definition and balance the best wines exhibit. Good fruit aromatics though; it is just the palate that doesn't appeal at present. 14.5-15.5+/20

Château Pape-Clément 2009: This is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine has a dark, purple-black core with good concentration right out to the rim. The nose is very dense and yet perfumed, full of squashed cherries, warm tar, rose petals and more. No shortage of depth here. Yet the palate has an elegantly defined cool and rather direct style on the palate, showing an impressive definition. The tannins are moving from cottony to almost silky here, although that is not to say they take a back seat, and there is also a great concentration of fruit presented in very lush style. Supple, with a very polished finish, this is a sample which has great promise. 18-19+/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2009: A very dark and creamy wine with a bright cherry red-pink hue at the rim. The nose suggests lovely fruit concentration, very delineated and fresh, but plainly also rich and ripe. Dark in character, although with good floral tones. Lots of lovely substance on the palate, presented in a firm and bold style, with extracted tannins which dominate the palate. It has a good sense of balance though, with a layer of sweet but crunchy dark fruits alongside, and good acids too. An impressive wine full of character with really good potential. 17.5-18.5+/20