2009 Haut-Bergey

[Bacchus]

Nice budget play here folks. Very dark, blackish-red in colour. Faint nose, I mostly get a smokey, crushed rock scent that I pick up on a lot of the wines from Pessac-Leognan. Some vanilla on the nose too. This is ripe, but not over-bearing or "sticky." Tannins are coarser than the Giscours - it's a more rustic wine. In the flavour profile I pick up blueberry, ripe black cherries, some menthol, cacao powder, a bit of oyster shell. Sweet fruit, nice acidity. Not the wine the Giscours is, but a good value play nonetheless. There's enough structure that it will last, and I think it will improve as it integrates over time. Still, it's drinkable now, indeed delicious. I think I'll go for a 6 pack. Everyone should have a few bottles in their cellars.

[JimHow]

Nice, at $32 it is on my to do list.

[OrlandoRobert]

Nice!

I bought a 6'er but tucked it away. Sounds like I should check in. Have not even touched my '05s.

Where for $32? I think I paid $40 on release.

[JimHow]

At PJs in Manhattan, Orlando Robert, $32 on pre arrival.

www.pjwine.com

[DavidG]

Thanks for the report. I've also got 6 buried in the cellar. Wonder if this will go to sleep or just keep improving. Early word on '09s was that they'd never shut down, but I've been seeing more recent notes from guys like Ben Giliberti saying that many of them have indeed closed up. Of course Jim will tell us to drink up, but he's a serial vinopedophile...

[pomilion]

Nice wine, had it a few weeks ago along with Haut Bages Liberal, another winner in the same price range. Agree that everyone should try a bottle and see what they think.

[robert goulet]

yeah, prices on this jumped up a bit so I hesitated. I remember this was the around the same price as the Larrivet in '05 and I clearly remember enjoying the Larrivet a touch more and since the Larrivet is $12 bucks cheaper (granted it's the '08 larrivet(but it rocks) vs. '09 Bergey) here I will have to pause for now unless I find better pricing... thanks for note though, sounds tasty.

[Bacchus]

I had a bottle of the 05 about a year ago. The 09 is much more open now than the 05 was then.