2009, “best modern vintage” according to Suckling

James Suckling has reviewed and published his 2009 Bordeaux tasting notes. His enthusiasm for this vintage, which he describes as “the best modern vintage”, is evident in the generous ratings he gave to the wines in the bottle.

He had initially considered 14 wines as potentially perfect to finally award 100 points to nine of them, among which we find all the Premiers Grands Crus with the exception of Mouton Rothschild, which nevertheless seemed in an excellent position to reach the 100 points in 2010 but failed to keep pace with its peers and scored just under 98 points. Châteaux Ausone, Lafleur and Vieux Château Certan are included in the circle of perfect wines, as are the “super seconds” Châteaux Montrose and Cos d'Estournel (which many say are among Parker's favourites).

In all, 22 wines received 98 points and more. Among the best rated, Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry is distinguished by the critic as "one of the top-class wines with the most interesting value that [he has] tasted". You can view Suckling's full tasting notes at Jamessuckling.com.

Parker is expected to publish his 2009 vintage bottle notes in the next issue of The Wine Advocate. If he also ranks this vintage higher than its predecessors (which is not impossible given his eloquence at WineFuture), could 2009 and Bordeaux in general arouse more interest?

Source: Livex
Feb 15, 2012