Power and enveloping aromatics from the first moment, this is bursting with pleasure, and so signature Margaux. Impossible not to love the depth and the spice that comes through from the first moment, with spirals of sandalwood, violets, crushed raspberries and cassis. Enticing and generous, and totally delicous. Still young, very much in it primary fruit phase, but you can begin to drink this now, such is the vibrancy of the tannins, but it will deliver for many decades to come. Torreified, smoked coffee bean and campfire notes overtake after half an hour in the glass. 100% new oak. 31% of production win the 1st wine, with the same high level of Cabernet Sauvignon as in 2005. Paul Pontallier director in these years, and this continues to set out a benchmark for the property, as it has every time I have tasted it.

If you are wondering what heaven in a glass feel, smells and tastes like, look no further. This is everything a great wine needs. The texture is pure silk and velvet. And speaking of purity, the fruit delivers that in spades. The sensual texture really brings everything together. If you have a bottle and can wait another decade, as good as this is today, it will be even better!

A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2009 Chateau Margaux has a deep garnet color. It comes barrelling out of the glass with bold notions of black cherry compote, warm cassis, vanilla, sassafras, star anise, and unsmoked cigars, with emerging wafts of violets and smoked meats. The medium-bodied palate delivers tantalizing tension with velvety tannins and generous black fruits, finishing long with lingering baking spice and mineral nuances. It is delicious right now but has many, many years of cellaring to go! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon 9% Merlot 2% Cabernet Franc 2% Petit Verdot. A mere 36% of the estate's production made it into the Grand Vin this year. Super concentrated it exhibits a dark but not `inky' red core with a substantially brighter red rim. Powerful nose of sweet mocha chocolate blueberry cassis and liquor followed by fresh bright raspberry crushed flowers and ripe red currant. It is so soft throughout showing both power and elegance. The tannins are ever present but round and velvety. This Margaux shows the purity of the vintage and the hallmark freshness that the best 09s possess. An absolutely stunning wine from start to finish .

This marathon runner is currently in the no-man's land between youthful vitality and mellow maturity. There's a very serious tannin structure here, but it needs a lot longer to fully resolve. Very tight and closed. A perfect wine usually. But not today. Try in 2020.

Dark in colour, the 2009 vintage boasts a pronounced plum and blackberry fruit aroma with notes of chocolate, ground coffee, and a touch of oak spice that seems to linger. The palate has impressive density but nothing austere, as the silky tannic structure caresses the palate throughout the deliciously long finish. Despite its youth, this vintage is already more approachable than the 2000. Although one might be tempted to pull the cork, let cooler heads prevail since this has the substance for long aging.

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Margaux '09 has stunning precision and focus on the nose: classic Pauillac with blackberry, crushed stone, a sense of Alpine freshness. Vivacious and penetrating, this is a bouquet that stops you in your tracks. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet ripe blackberry and briary fruit, struck through with citrus lemon and orange zest. The finish is confident and exuberant, lingering for at least a minute in the mouth. Tasted January 2013.

The 2009 Château Margaux is deep garnet in color and features wonderfully fragrant minted cassis, lilacs, black forest cake and oolong tea scents with touches of pencil shavings and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm, grainy frame with lovely freshness lifting the perfumed fruit to a very long, mineral-laced finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

A massive wine for Margaux packed with tannins and ripe fruit. It has more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual giving intense black currant flavors with enticing acidity balanced by the sweetness of the fruit. Ripe swathes of this opulent fruit are also elegant and structured. R.V.

This offers gorgeously caressing fruit, with steeped plum, blackberry and red currant notes, finely embroidered with accents of rooibos and black tea, tobacco leaf, alder and sandalwood. Delivers loads of fruit, with the structure already melded into the core of fruit—but that's the vintage style. A stunner, though I still find the '10 a full step ahead.—Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Best from 2018 through 2035. – JM