Chateau Labegorce, Margaux 2009

Bright red-ruby. Aromas of roasted plum, currant, blackberry and tar are lifted by a floral topnote and complicated by a whiff of leather. Sweet, silky and densely packed, with impressive thickness of texture leavened by good inner-mouth energy and florality. Fine-grained and very nicely delineated. Finishes long and ripely tannic, with lingering flavors of crushed blackberry, plum, chocolate and minerals. As of this vintage, Labegorce now includes the vines from Labegorce-Zede; new proprietor Hubert Perrodo re-unified these two properties in late 2005, shortly before his death in a skiing accident in late 2006.

• Reviewer Name: Stephen Tanzer
• Review Date: July 2012