wine bottle

2009 Chateau Cantemerle

By Chateau Cantemerle

2009 Chateau Cantemerle from Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux

The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux is famously cited as one of the most illustrious years for the region's vinous output, and the 2009 Chateau Cantemerle unequivocally embodies this remarkable climatic bounty. A forward year revealing the magnanimous nature of the Haut-Medoc terroir, this offering from Chateau Cantemerle showcases a memorable expression of balance and depth that discerning investors should keenly observe.

 

Investment Merits of an Exceptional Vintage

In the temperate embrace of the 2009 growing season, Chateau Cantemerle's skilled vignerons cultivated grapes that reached optimal ripeness, bestowing upon this wine a generosity of fruit with a structure primed for graceful aging. These favourable harvesting conditions translate directly into a majestically matured investment wine that maintains its complexity and allure over time.

 

The Distinction of Time: A Resilient Profile

A decade on since its harvest, the 2009 Chateau Cantemerle articulates maturity with an assertive voice. To revisit this crimson-hued ode to Haut-Medoc is to experience a tapestry of black cherry and cassis, interlaced with subtle traceries of tobacco and spice derived from its judicious sojourn in oak. Crucially, what sets the 2009 apart is an underlying vigour – a vibrant acidity that carries its opulent bouquet through to an impeccably poised finish.

On the palate, investors and connoisseurs alike will relish the rich yet supple tannins that are now rounded with age, offering a mouthfeel that is both sumptuous and harmonious, without forsaking the wine's archetypal Bordelaise architecture.

In sum, for those seeking to diversify their fine wine portfolio or simply indulge in tasting history, the 2009 vintage from Chateau Cantemerle emerges as a compelling testament to the estate’s dedication to vinicultural excellence. This vintage not only captures a snapshot of a blessed year but also suggests there is sublime pleasure yet to mature in bottle – a notion no serious wine investment collection should be without.

Market price (CAD)

$610.00

12x75cl

Highest score

91

POP score

33.64

Scores and tasting notes

91

Readers looking for the more ethereal, elegant side of Bordeaux need search no further than Cantemerle, one of the estates in the very southern end of the Medoc. Dense ruby/purple (nearly opaque), this wine offers up notes of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, raspberries and black cherries. The wine is ethereal, medium-bodied, and by no means a blockbuster, but long and intellectual. However, the tannins are present, and the wine is certainly capable of putting on weight with time in the bottle. Give it 3-4 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 25+ years.

Robert Parker Jr - The Wine Advocate, 22 December 2011

Vintage performance