Bordeaux 2009 at Four Years: Pessac-Léognan
For me both Pessac-Léognan and Margaux are about perfume and gravel; if you look at the style of those wines which most of us would consider to be the greatest of these two appellations, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion (I realise Château Palmer and Château La Mission Haut-Brion should perhaps also get a mention here) they communicate their terroir to us in a style which is much more perfumed and floral than that which you are likely to find with the first growths that are located a little further to the north. These wines have very different characters compared to the confidence exhibited by Château Latour or Château Lafite-Rothschild, or indeed the seductive spice of Château Mouton-Rothschild.
For this reason, wines from Pessac-Léognan that give forth this character will always have the edge on those that do not, to my palate at least. And a vintage that brings real ripeness of fruit and the possibility of extracting a huge amount of tannin is going to tend to mask the more appealing features of these wines. Happily the small range of wines selected here largely feature those domaines which tend to turn out wines that often appeal, with substance and floral elegance combined, and so we have some top-scoring wines here.
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