Le Bon Pasteur 2009

A wine, with bright and intense aromas of raspberries and lemon rind. Full body, with silky tannins and an electrifying acid, fruit balance. A super classy bottle here. Best in years from here. Try in 2017.

A brilliant effort from well-known oenologists Dany and Michel Rolland, the 2009 Bon Pasteur is dominated by Merlot, with a touch of Cabernet Franc included in the blend. It reveals textbook notes of mocha, tobacco leaf, blackberries, black cherries, roasted coffee and wood smoke. Full-bodied and luscious with a succulent, beautifully textured, multidimensional mouthfeel, low acidity and sweet but noticeable tannin, it is reminiscent of the 1982 Bon Pasteur, which continued to put on weight for a decade or more. If the 2009 does the same, it will come close to equaling that legendary vintage. Drink it over the next 20+ years.

The 2009 Le Bon Pasteur is a wine that I have never quite warmed up to as much as expected since an impressive showing from barrel. It has a refined bouquet with slightly earthy red fruit and rose petals though, unusually for this growth, it is missing a little horsepower. The palate is medium-bodied with light grainy tannin, a little aloof with an attenuated spicy finish but it does improve in the glass. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.

Ruby-red. Superripe aromas of raspberry, iron, sweet spices, tobacco and sweet oak. Lush, broad and ripe, with sumptuous red cherry and blackcurrant flavors saturating the palate without leaving any undue impression of weight. The enticing, fine-grained finish shows lovely floral lift and a light touch. I found a distinct aromatic resemblance between this wine, from a property owned by Michel and Dany Rolland, and Italy's famous Masseto, the 100%-merlot wine from Ornellaia where Rolland consults. Perhaps the best young Le Bon Pasteur of the last 20 years, and a wine that will one day rival the 1982 and 1989.

Ruby-red. Superripe aromas of raspberry, iron, sweet spices, tobacco and sweet oak. Lush, broad and ripe, with sumptuous red cherry and blackcurrant flavors saturating the palate without leaving any undue impression of weight. The enticing, fine-grained finish shows lovely floral lift and a light touch. I found a distinct aromatic resemblance between this wine, from a property owned by Michel and Dany Rolland, and Italy's famous Masseto, the 100%-merlot wine from Ornellaia where Rolland consults. Perhaps the best young Le Bon Pasteur of the last 20 years, and a wine that will one day rival the 1982 and 1989.