- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Vinous
2009 Chateau Haut Brion, Pessac-Leognan, France
Elegant and complex, the red wine of Château Haut-Brion is very mineral and of a rare complexity, it is distinguished by an astonishing length, this aromatic persistence being the privilege of very great origins.
2009 Chateau Haut Brion
TASTING NOTE
If the purplish red color augurs a certain density, the agitation reveals
a deep, warm nose, of great maturity.
On the palate, the wine is broad from the start, full from the middle to the end.
The wine is unctuous and its concentration is such that we dare to use the word thick.
But this thickness is not synonymous with heaviness, because the freshness
balances this power. We find in this wine the style of 2005, for the power,
even if the 2009 is even more concentrated. We also find the maturity
and touch of the tannins of the 1990 or 1989 vintages. To sum up the Château
Haut-Brion 2009, we are faced with a 2005 crossbred with 1989.
THE CLIMATE
The vegetative cycle began under a rainy spring. Flowering was regular thanks to the good temperatures and the absence of rain at the end of May – beginning of June. July, August and September were very dry. 2009 is one of the driest years for the ripening period, along with 2000 and 2005, allowing the latter to come to an optimal end. The harvest took place from the last day of August to the first week of October, under dream weather conditions for the winegrower, marked by an almost total absence of rain.