I have tasted about 50 or 60 wines a day this week in Bordeaux in blind tastings at Chateau Carignan as well as during visits to various chais. I feel surprisingly well after so many young wines, but this is the magic of 2009. The wines excite you with each sip. They are not heavy and ponderous.
Everyone I speak to – from vintner to winemaker – says that the incredible character of 2009 is that bright and fresh acidity that gives the young reds a vibrant energy. It’s like they are electrified. The combination of ripe tannins with relatively strong acidity and enveloped in juicy fruit gives the wines incredible texture. It’s a creaminess that I haven’t found in other young vintages.
I tasted at Haut-Brion – which in my opinion made a perfect wine in 2009 – and I was speaking to the cellar master Jean-Philippe Masclef. I told him that I thought the 2009 was like the 1989 because of its decadent richness and impressive tannin structure. The 1989 HB is another perfect wine. It’s so amazing to drink now.
“I can see how you can say that,” he said, being polite as ever in French. “But the 2009 is much fresher.”
“What’s the pH compared to the 1989?” I responded.
“The pH on the 2009 is 3.7 compared to 4 for the 1989,” he said.
That’s impressive. The 2009 has much stronger acidity even though the alcohol is relatively high for Bordeaux. Everything is balancing out in 2009 from the high alcohol, bright acidity, and rich fruit.
As Paul Pontallier said of Chateau Margaux: “These are wines of extremes, but in the end, they balance out.”
My tasting continues. I really believe that 2009 may be the vintage of my career.
I hear many winemakers and critics use the term "freshness" when describing the characteristics of a wine with relatively high acidity. Similar to a chef's use of acidity, whether it be citrus juice, vinegar, zest, I find acidity heightens the fruit character of the wine, brings vivacity, and almost lightens the heaviness of the fruit which may otherwise come across as flabby and cloying. I think your term "vibrant energy" is a better description than freshness. I guess that's the beauty of great wine though....everyone is going to have a different way of describing how a certain wine effects their palate. Cheers!