Chateau Haut Brion 2009

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Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

What a blockbuster effort! Atypically powerful, one day, the 2009 Haut-Brion may be considered to be the 21st century version of the 1959. It is an extraordinarily complex, concentrated effort made from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with the highest alcohol ever achieved at this estate, 14.3%. Even richer than the perfect 1989, with similar technical numbers although slightly higher extract and alcohol, it offers up a sensational perfume of subtle burning embers, unsmoked cigar tobacco, charcoal, black raspberries, wet gravel, plums, figs and blueberries. There is so much going on in the aromatics that one almost hesitates to stop smelling it. However, when it hits the palate, it is hardly a letdown. This unctuously textured, full-bodied 2009 possesses low acidity along with stunning extract and remarkable clarity for a wine with a pH close to 4.0. The good news is that there are 10,500 cases of the 2009, one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made. It requires a decade of cellaring and should last a half century or more. Readers who have loved the complexity of Haut-Brion should be prepared for a bigger, richer, more massive wine, but one that does not lose any of its prodigious aromatic attractions.

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Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted at the chateau. The Haut-Brion ’09 is a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc, 14.3% alcohol, pH 3.84. The bouquet is markedly different from La Mission: far more rounded and opulent, much more sweet, ripe fruit with blackberry, red cherry, cassis and a touch of creme de menthe. This is one of the most decedent Haut-Brion’s that I have tasted at this stage. The palate is full-bodied, layers of tannic black fruits, huge structure, dense and demonstrative. Blackberry, a touch of tar and graphite, some black olive towards the finish, almost a tidal wave of flavours. Huge grip on the dry finish, but incredible persistency in the mouth. Tasted April 2010.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

There are 10,500 cases of the 2009 Haut-Brion, from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. For technicians, the highest ever natural alcohol, 14.3%, was achieved, with a pH of 3.9, which is about the same as the 1989 and 1990, as well as 1959. This is the kind of wine to send chills even up my spine, and I have been tasting here for nearly 30 years. An extraordinary nose of plum, blueberry, raspberry, crushed rock, and that intriguing floral as well as unsmoked cigar tobacco note (a classic sign of this terroir) is followed by a wine of creamy unctuosity reminiscent of 1989, but there is a freshness, vibrancy and precision that is historic and possibly unprecedented. Some graphite emerges as the wine sits in the glass, but the wine is very thick while at the same time precise and elegant. This is the quintessential expression of one of the greatest wine terroirs of the world. To reiterate, the good news is that there are going to be 10,500 cases of Haut-Brion in 2009, which is about 1,500 more cases than the 9,000 produced in 2005. This wine will probably need 7-8 years of cellaring when released and evolve as well as the 1959 has (which is still a perfect wine today), so we’re realistically talking 50-75 years when stored in a cool cellar. (Tasted once.)

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Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted at the Union de Grand Cru in London. The Chateau Haut-Brion 2009 is blessed with a very complex, but almost understated bouquet, the Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) much more pronounced here imparting more undergrowth/tobacco aromas at present. Very fine definition and freshness but more taciturn. The palate is medium-bodied with a brightness on the entry that makes up for the introverted aromatics. Very good acidity, fresh and very tense, again the Cabernet defining the finish with touches of graphite and cedar. Grippy, austere finish at the moment, suggesting that this is a long-term Haut-Brion, but going back and forth between the two neighbours, I feel that this has edge in terms of finesse. Tasted September 2011.

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Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Haut-Brion ‘09 plays the idiot savant at first and deceptively seems to miss the complexity of its peers, then voila! It opens gloriously with blackberry, wild hedgerow and crushed stone. The palate is full-bodied with an opulent rounded entry. It is slightly low in acidity, making this forward and approachable. But it remains beautifully balanced with a sumptuous finish to die for. Tasted January 2013.

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Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2009 Haut-Brion is deep garnet colored and slightly closed and shy to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal sensuous notions of warm blackberries, plum preserves, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of star anise, mocha and damp soil. Full-bodied, taut and tightly wound in the mouth, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruit and mineral layers with a very firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and earthy. This needs time!

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Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata

(46% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 14% cabernet franc; a 57% selection; 14.3% alcohol) Saturated bright ruby. The deep, brooding nose is quite marked by the cabernet franc presence, opening slowly with air to offer sexy, soil-driven aromas of violet, raspberry, mocha, minerals and sweet spices. Then rich and sweet in the mouth but with outstanding minerality and enticing violet lift to the ripe red cherry, raspberry, cocoa and black pepper flavors. Offers a stunning combination of concentration, density and balance; as backward and reserved as this wine is today, it manages to come across as graceful. The endless palate-staining finish is loaded with sweet, ripe tannins and an exhilarating note of floral black pepper. This wine made me think of what a blend of the great '89 and '05 Haut-Brions might taste like.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2009 Haut-Brion has a powerful bouquet with ample blackberry, hoisin, crushed stone and cedar aromas, quite warm and welcoming but retaining satisfying delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, but it seems to tighten towards the fresh and persistent finish. Impressive but unequivocally not the best example. 14.3% alcohol. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2009 Haut-Brion has a less precocious but more detailed bouquet, more nuanced perhaps with warm slates baking in the summer sun, tilled loam and cedar infusing the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, perfect acidity, layers of mineral-rich black fruit. This seems to have gained more complexity in recent years and is beginning to flirt with perfection. It’s not there yet, but it is moving in that direction. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' Ten Year On tasting.

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Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Vivid deep ruby. Knockout fruity nose offers blackcurrant, strawberry, rosemary, truffle and a stony note. Then very closed in the middle, with cabernet sauvignon-dominated flavors of cassis, cigar box, cedar and minerals. Finishes long and deep, with massive but smooth tannins and a lingering note of violet. This will need plenty of time in the cellar but should be an outstanding, memorable Haut Brion. Offhand, I do not recall a better pair of wines from any estate in 2009: millionaires will have a lot of fun trying to choose between La Mission and Haut Brion in 20 years' time.