2009 Red Wine from North Coast

Connoisseur's Guide, 91 points: If not quite so sturdy as its Marin County mates below this wine offers a slightly more precise look at ripe cherry varietal styling and its firm yet supple mouthfeel with its slight tightness under a polished texture...

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: Pinot Noir just doesn't get richer than this. It floods the mouth with ripe flavors of raspberries and cherries with fascinatingly earthy things like truffles and pine cones. Vibrant acidity and a hint of furry tannins...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: The Cabernet Franc-based 2009 Red Blend Terres Melees wraps around the palate with serious depth and richness. This is one of the more approachable of the Derenoncourt 2009s, but there is plenty of the trademark textural...

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: Cellar Selection. This falls midway between the spectacular '08 and the elegant '07. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon, its grapes were grown in St. Helena. The wine shows softly lush tannins and deep, complex flavors of red...

Wine Spectator, 92 points: Delightfully pure, rich and polished, with a graceful mix of dark berry, black cherry, subtle baking spices and light cedary oak. Ends with fine-grained tannins well-suited for the wine's weight and style. Drink now...