"Allen Meadows, Burghound 93 Points
This is the most complex of the three '09 grands crus with a penetrating and ripe nose of plum, pungent earth, game, black cherry and violets. The full-bodied, dense and overtly powerful flavors possess a velvety and seductive mouth feel that culminates in a mocha-infused and balanced finish. This is a very ripe wine but there is a sense of harmony here and this should mature beautifully. Excellent.
The approach here is largely one of modernity. Mallard explained that while the new wood varies according to the wine, it generally runs from 65 to 90%. However there is a nuance therein as the wines spend only 12 months in barrel before being racked into stainless steel for another 6 months. Depending on the vintage, the wines are either very lightly filtered or alternatively, only the last 10% where much of the heavier lees are to be found. On this visit Patrick credited his son with having helped to implement many qualitative changes that he felt were making a big difference in the quality of the wines."
