2009 Wine from France

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: Gorgeous nose of warm stones and dark fruits. Full body with a solid core of fruit and chewy tannins and a long and intense finish. Best ever. Best after 2016.

jamessuckling.com, 92 points: Intense aromas of blueberries and minerals, with hints of fresh herbs such as lavender. Full body, with very fine tannins and a berry, smoky and minerally aftertaste. Give this three or four years before opening.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The Sigalas Rabaud was sensational out of barrel and served blind, the wine does nothing to dispel my initial optimism that this is the apogee for the estate – so far. It is bestowed with an intense bouquet of quince...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: Performing better from bottle than it did from cask (and comparable to their wines 2005 2000 1990 and 1982) this is a great classic from Xavier Borie's estate situated on the back roads west of the town of Pauillac. Its...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: A good value among over-achieving St.-Emilion estates is La Fleur Cardinale's 2009. Composed of 70% Merlot 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon some of the abrasive tannins noticeable early on in this big wine...

Wine Enthusiast, 100 points: (WE98-100 points) A superb wine with the purest fruit great freshness and ripeness. It is certainly structured with dry tannins while the blackcurrant freshness is also all there. The biodynamic wine has a great limpid...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: The aromas are so floral, with currants and blueberries as well. Succulent. Full and very balanced, with super velvety tannins and a long and lovely finish. Frederic Engerer, president of Latour, uses the word “succulent”...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: Performing even better from bottle than it did from barrel this appears to be the finest Lynch Bages since the 2000 1990 and 1989. According to the chateau the 2009 has the highest level of polyphenols ever measured as...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 100 points: Clinet has been on a hot streak lately and the 2009 appears to be the greatest wine ever made at the estate surpassing even the late Jean-Michel Arcaute's monumental 1989. A blend of 85% Merlot and tiny amounts of...

Wine Enthusiast, 100 points: (WE98-100 points) The aromas are so rich and powerful, with great ripe apricots. There are honey, spice and beautiful sweet spiced pears. This is an extraordinary wine in an extraordinary year in Sauternes.

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, 94 points: Vivid ruby. Intense black and blue fruit aromas are complemented by potpourri olive and smoky herbs. Broad palate-staining dark fruit flavors become brighter with air and show an emphatically spicy character. Finishes...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 99 points: It boasts an inky/purple color along with a gorgeous bouquet of mocha chocolate blackberry and cassis fruit an unctuous texture a full-bodied viscous mouthfeel and a skyscraper-like multilayered finish. This spectacular...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Gorgeous aromas of crushed blackberries and blueberries, with vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with a solid core of very ripe fruit, toasted oak, milk chocolate and a long finish. Layered and intense. Made from organically...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: A rock-star bottling that over-delivers, Julien's 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Signature offers up tons of Provencal charm in its kirsch, peppery, licorice and wild herb aromas and flavors. Big, full-bodied, sexy and...