Ranked #13 of 38 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc Petit Verdot from Pauillac
94/100
4.5 Stars
Huon Hooke
The colour shows some early development, while the bouquet shows very meaty, savoury, smoky barrel-ferment/sulfide aromas. It's meaty, animal, carnal. This may blow off with aeration or time in a decanter. The palate, however, is very good: medium-full bodied, rich and fleshy, with soft, supple tannins and very appealing flavour - if not great clarity of fruit. The texture is lovely, while the oak is dominating right now. The fleshiness is pure, archetypal ripe-year Bordeaux.
Tasted: 10/11/2012
Drink: 2017 to 2044
95 Points Robert Parker
A beautiful effort, the 2009 Pichon Lalande, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, possesses copious mocha, lead pencil, unsmoked, high class tobacco, black currant, forest floor and herbaceous characteristics. It is a deep purple-hued, charming, surprisingly open-knit Pauillac with wonderful freshness, a plump, fleshy mouthfeel, opulence and unctuosity, medium to full body and a well-delineated, luscious style. More elegant than its nearby neighbor, Pichon Longueville Baron, and not as massive in concentration and extract, it is one of the great Pichon Lalandes of the last twenty years.
Source: Robert Parker (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) by Robert M. Parker, Jr. January, 2012