I’m a great fan of Moulis and Listrac. In these straightened economic times real value Bordeaux can be had here and the 2009 vintage, alongside some nicely judged winemaking, has enabled the properties here to make some of their best wines in a generation. The wines of Moulis tend to be more polished than those of Listrac, the latter usually a bit tougher and great for a fan of Madiran. Yet with the extra ripeness in 2009, the vintage has tamed the ferociousness of Listrac in particular.

2009: Unbelievably delicious Bordeaux like Chateau Gloria above

Don’t panic, rest easy. For those who invested heavily en primeur in Bordeaux 2009, either for their drinking pleasure, or to make a bob or two, I think your money’s safe. In Octover 2001 130 of Bordeaux’s finest chateaux, members of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, turned up as they do each year at London’s Royal Opera House showing their most recently bottled vintage. I don’t know about you but with all the hype and price controversy that surrounded this vintage on release it seems 2009 has been around for ages, certainly a lot longer than 24 months. Widely praised by many as one of the finest ever Bordeaux vintages, now that it’s finally in bottle, this vintage is still a delight. Never has there been such joy drinking young red Bordeaux at this age, nor for that matter its fabulous sweet Sauternes and Barsac. The whites from Pessac-Léognan and Graves, whilst maybe not having the freshness and delicacy of say 2010 or especially 2007, have generally developed well into big, full, spicy whites.

At a time when the Bordeaux 2009 is grabbing all the attention – this week Chateau Mouton-Rothschild ‘09 was released at a cool £8000 a case – it almost feels like that previous superstar vintage 2005 is being overlooked, certainly if prices are anything to go by. In fact 2005 is almost looking a bit undervalued, amazing considering the records broken in 2006 when those wines were first released. With that in mind I had a look at some of the wines that I bought back then just to see how that vintage is faring and to fill in some gaps in my tastings of them. All the wines were from the left bank and there was remarkable harmony and finesse to them all.

The great 2009 vintage continues into Moulis and Listrac. Real consistency here with intensity and concentration. The style is as tight as usual but with additional levels of richness and layers and freshness too. Chateau Poujeaux is quite outstanding. Chateau Chasse-Spleen and Chateau Maucaillou not that far behind. Assuming prices stay reasonable these wines below should offer excellent value for money.