Chateau de Camensac held the UGCB Haut-Médoc tastings

The top estates here have been great buys in the last few vintages. 2009 especially is an exciting vintage for the Haut-Médoc. I’m afraid it’s hard to get terribly excited about these wines in 2011. The best are lively, sappy wines, but even at a discount, you’re probably better paying more for the 2009s and 2010s still on the market. The highlights are clearly Chateau La Lagune, very much worth considering if the price is right [and way better than most efforts in Margaux too] and Chateau Belgrave which is also usually good value.  Chateau Citran, Chateau Beaumont and Chateau de Camensac have also made pretty good wines, along with Chateau La Tour Carnet, if you can get past the lifted Magrez style. The big disappointment here is Chateau Cantemerle. It may come together but why bother?  There’s still a lot of their extraordinary 2009 on the market for just a few quid more.

There is more variation here among the wines than in the other appellations reflecting, as usual, the different terroirs and winemaking approaches. It seemed that the wines were also suffering more from bottle shock than the other Medoc appellations. If you’re looking for quintessential Margaux perfume and the benchmark elegance and poise the appellation is famed for, look no further than Chateaux Brane Cantenac and Chateau du Tertre which both look terrific.

St Estèphe is seductive in 2009 – not a word you associate with the appellation

Now finally detailed notes on Bordeaux 2009 now that it’s in bottle following October’s Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting. First St Estèphe and Paulliac, two strong appellations this vintage. There was no doubt about the quality of these wines en primeur, and they moved on magnificently during elevage.

2009 is a glorious vintage in Sauternes and Barsac too

Don’t let the rave reviews of Bordeaux’s red wines in 2009 distract from the superb quality of its sweet wines in this vintage. Producers were exclaiming from the off here how excited they were by the quality of the harvest here, seen as the most exciting since 2001.