2009 Ferrand

Aromas of blackberries and dark chocolate, follow through to a full body, with silky tannins and a delicious fruity finish. Not that complex a wine on the palate, but outstanding. Better in 2015. James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

Very dark indeed. Rather overripe notes on the nose. Certainly extreme wine but very tough and dry on the end. Picked too late and possibly over- extracted. Shame.

A sleeper of the vintage, this estate had some slight hail damage in May from the ferocious storms that swept across parts of the northern Graves region. The hail insured that Ferran had very tiny yields (35 hectoliters per hectare) in 2009, resulting in the finest wine I have yet tasted from this property. It exhibits an intense black cherry and graphite character with subtle spice box and earth in the background. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy, and succulent with lots of glycerin as well as excellent purity, it should be drunk over the next decade or more. (Tasted once.)