A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Bin 415, one of my favorite hidden gems in San Francisco, was hosting an amazing night, with all five First Growth Bordeaux from 2009, an all-time vintage.
I've individually tried all these wines from different vintages, but the opportunity to try all side-by-side and get a sense for the different styles was a truly unique opportunity.
All wines were poured from a Coravin, so didn't get any decanting, but the tasting took place over an hour, so I made sure to keep swirling and save small tastes of wine to see how they each evolved in the glass over an hour.
The wines were effectively laid out from lightest body to fullest body, which meant Margaux, Lafite, Haut-Brion, Mouton, and Latour.
2009 Château Margaux
The "Battery"
This was the lightest of all the 2009 First Growths.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
Slightly feminine with a perfumed nose.
Red cherry, blueberry, and blackberry notes on the onset.
This still drinks really young and has tannins for days, although with an hour in the glass, they did mellow out.
With a little more time in the glass, picked up leather, cedar, and tobacco, alongside some redcurrant and blackcurrant notes.
Nice long finish.
Enjoyed this one a lot, have a feeling it will get better with age!
93+ points.
2009 Château Lafite Rothschild
The "Aristocrat"
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot.
Slightly more muted nose, at least initially. Required some vigorous swirling to wake it up.
Started to pick up notes of blackberry, cinnamon, dried fruit, dark plums, and cassis.
Solid acidity with integrated tannins (on the back-end).
With time, also picked up some slight licorice/star anise notes alongside some slight walnut note.
93+ points.
2009 Château Haut-Brion
The "Intellectual"
46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc.
Fresh and floral nose.
Red plum and brambly red fruits on the nose, alongside blackberry.
This has a very complex nose and is a total pleasure to just smell.
Also picked up some pomegranate and gravel notes.
Balanced palate with medium acidity and a long finish.
More Merlot than Cab, which softens this one, despite the young age and that's in spite of the high 14.5% ABV.
Tied with the Mouton for my WOTN.
94+ points.
2009 Château Mouton Rothschild
The "Artist"
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot.
I had this same wine a couple months ago and enjoyed it, but this time, for whatever reason, was significantly more enjoyable!
Powerful nose, but with a delicate palate.
Red plums, dark plums, dark cherry, and cassis notes.
This has riper fruit than some of the other First Growths.
Also picked up cinnamon bark, slight pepper, and tobacco.
Tied with HB for my WOTN.
Side note, the beautiful label is by Anish Kapoor, the same person behind the Chicago Bean!
94+ points.
2009 Château Latour
The "Warrior"
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot.
This has the most "masculine" nose out of the 2009 First Growths.
Powerful nose with dark plum, pomegranate skins, graphite, and young peppercorn.
This is very young with high acidity and loads of tannins.
A pleasure to drink right now, but have a feeling this will get loads better over time.
93+ points.
What an amazing opportunity to try all of these!
The side-by-side comparisons were so fascinating. Each producer clearly has a different style and even seeing the differences bet ween Mouton and Lafite were pretty incredible.
This is also a snapshot in time. It would be fascinating to revisit this in another decade, because tasting notes may be very different.
My friend and I agreed that Haut-Brion and Mouton were our standout favorites from the tasting, but I wouldn't be surprised if Latour ends up being the Wine of the Vintage with another decade.
I'd also note that my scores are indicative of the experience of a relatively small pour of each wine and I'm sure the scores could be higher with a whole bottle and decanting or with additional bottle age.
Also, since it will get asked, cost was $495/person.
by rnjbond