2009 La Cardonne
Estimated value
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Tasting notes
A blend of 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, this 2009 offers up notes of tobacco leaf, cassis, and loamy soil with underbrush nuances. With excellent texture, impressive purity, and medium to full body, this is a rich, over-achieving cru bourgeois to drink over the next decade. This is a major sleeper of the vintage and the best wine I have ever tasted from La Cardonne, which is in the northern end of the Medoc, near the town of Blaignan. (A member of the Association of Crus Bourgeois du Medoc.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. Deeply coloured. Invitingly rich and dark on the nose. Pure fruited, a little dusty in a good way, and already silky even though the structure is there. Fresh and with a lightness of touch. (JH)
Deep crimson. Relatively subtle nose. Nicely polished fruit with some energy and real zest in this cru bourgeois supérieur. Fine, classic and silky. (JR)
Colour definitely steps up a notch with this vintage. Damson, black pepper, cumin, cedar, sandalwood, creamy tannins, once again impressive value. In these smaller appellation, the lower stress levels of the great vintages is palpable, even if they know they can't triple the price of the resulting wines, and this delivers. Magali Guyon technical director. Stephane Correges consultant.