2009 Cote de Baleau

Tasted at a negociant. This has a ripe, glossy, super-sleek bouquet with succulent red-berry fruit, red cherry and violets. Moderate definition...very modern in style. The palate has a very sweet entry and there feels like a lot of residual on the palate, yet the tannins are certainly here and there is good backbone, the finish not as cloying as the entry suggests. However, there is a dryness on the finish that is a little worrying. Difficult to see how this will develop. It will hopefully flesh out with time. Hopefully! Tasted March 2010.

Very odd note on the nose. Almost like plastic! Then some raw oak and definite bitterness on the finish. Far from harmonious at this stage…

Less impressive than I remember from barrel (and one of the few 2009s that moved in a negative direction), this wine, a blend of 70% Merlot and the rest split between the two Cabernets, has Michel Rolland as a consultant. The wine is straightforward, with pleasant but somewhat superficial red currant and cherry notes intermixed with some herbs and underbrush. Medium-bodied, round and easy to drink, it should be consumed in the first decade of its life. Feb 2012, www.robertparker.com