La Lagune 2009

It is not unusual that the 2009 La Lagune is a spectacular effort given the fact that this estate has been making terrific wines over the last decade or more. It boasts a dense purple color as well as a beautiful perfume of blueberries, mulberries, cassis, white chocolate and subtle toasty oak. Notes of Chinese black tea, cedarwood and forest floor also make an appearance in the singular aromatic and flavor profiles. This sumptuous, full-bodied La Lagune possesses low acidity, abundant but ripe, sweet tannin and a long, 45-second finish. Give this beauty 5-7 years of bottle age and drink it over the following three decades.

Tasted at the Medoc UGC. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 15% Petit Verdot, picked from 18th September (young Merlot vines) until 8th October. The La Lagune has a limpid purple/black colour. The nose is very tight at first, unfurling nicely with aeration to reveal succulent blackberry, bilberry, a fleeting scent of estuary mudflats that segues into more vanillary aromas from the oak. The palate hits all the right buttons: superbly balanced with fine but sturdy tannins, great clarity and focus, the minerality and sense of tension brimming over the finish. Good length. This is an assured, confident La Lagune that will be an absolute pleasure after bottling. Tasted March 2010.

Floral and precise fruit, with blackberry-skin character and mineral undertones. Full-bodied, with superfine tannins and a fresh, clean finish. Long and tight. Racy. Lovely texture. 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 percent Merlot and 15 percent Petit Verdot. This property is really on a roll now, delivering racy and structured reds; it gives much more freshness and character to the wine.

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 la Lagune opens with a an earthy, Band-Aid and menthol-laced nose with a core of crème de cassis, plum preserves and Provence herbs plus a waft of tree bark. Medium to full-bodied, firm and chewy, with a pleasant earth-laced palate, it has appealing layers and harmony, if it tails off just a little rustic. 2019 - 2029