Clos de Sarpe 2009

This property was hit by hail, and the resulting yields were a bankruptcy-inspiring 4 hectoliters per hectare (joking, of course, but it’s almost impossible to make a living at those yields.) The wine is over-the-top in extraction, so over-sized and enormous it makes even the previous vintages, which were huge, massive, ferociously tannic wines meant for drinking in 50 or more years, look subtle and delicate. Is this too much of a good thing? I don’t know, but the highest I could rate it is the score above. The final blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, with 14.5% natural alcohol. This wine is massive and probably the most concentrated, backward, and tannic wine I tasted from this vintage. It is one of the most ferocious wines I have tasted in 30+ years in Bordeaux. There is a lot to like – the purity, the texture, the enormity of it – but anyone contemplating buying it should really forget it for at least two decades, and whether that makes market sense is not for me to answer, but rather a personal decision on the part of any purchaser. (Tasted four times.)

Score: 92 - 94

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 01 April 2010