2009 Chateau Cantenac Brown Brio Margaux 750 ml

The Gem of Margaux’s 97pt 2009 Vintage

We love to engage Bordeaux loyalists in debates about the best appellations and their signature characteristics. Acolytes of Pauillac adore the commune for its aristocratic, tannic elegance. Members of Team Saint-Julien will rave about the masculine intensity of the wines there. Sit next to a Saint-Estèphe collector and prepare to have your ear talked off about the appellation’s scintillating, exotic raciness. But Margaux lovers — well, they’re a special breed. At its best, the largest and southernmost Haut-Médoc commune, boasting ethereally light, gravelly soil and abundant warmth, attains a hedonistic, silky, supple sexiness that no other region can touch. One cashmere-textured sip of a Margaux from a superior vintage and many wine lovers will be lifelong adherents.

Margaux was blessed by one of those ultra-rare vintages in 2009. The stars aligned perfectly, a once-in-a-lifetime confluence of factors that could have even the most skeptical wondering about divine intervention: early flowering, opportune late spring rainfall, and a seemingly endless Indian summer. As a result, Margaux’s 2009s are some of the richest, most powerful, deeply concentrated reds in the modern history of Bordeaux.

Robert Parker went wild over the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux, declaring it “historic” and comparing the sheer opulence of 2009 with the best of the “9s” — 1899, 1929, 1949, and 1959. He pinned an “extraordinary” 97 points on Margaux’s vintage.

We highly recommend snapping up a bottle of Château Margaux from that year — if you’ve got a spare $1,500 lying around, that is. The rest of us turn to one of the appellation’s greatest estates, Château Cantenac Brown, which affords bargain-hunters a taste of the extraordinary 2009 vintage for a fraction of what Chinese billionaires have shelled out for Latour.

Cantenac Brown is a Third Growth estate in the southern portion of the appellation whose name traces back to the 1806 purchase by John-Lewis Brown. It is one of the most picturesque châteaux in all of Bordeaux, home to a gorgeous Tudor-style mansion and white swans gracefully cutting across sparkling blue lakes. The 120 acres — 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc — are densely plotted with 30- to 60-year-old vines. Walk through the rows and you’ll see the ground’s surface dotted with “Médoc diamonds,” the magic iridescent quartz stones that reflect the sun’s light onto grapes by day and at night continue to radiate heat.

In 2009, Mother Nature — and Cantenac Brown’s talented winemaker, José Sanfins — worked those old vines for about all they were worth. June saw early flowering followed by hot weather that assured uniform set. After an early veraison, rain fell plentifully at the summer’s end, ensuring the vines didn’t shut down. The last weeks were warm and dry but not too warm — in the astonished words of nearly every vigneron with whom we spoke: “Parfait!”

The 2009 Château Cantenac Brown Brio Margaux is deep purple. Elegant nose of blackberries, black currant, oak spice and pencil lead. Punchy and densely packed on palate with mineral-tinged dark and red fruits and chewy tannins.  Very masculine and powerful Bordeaux. Drink now - 2040.

The Bean Counters weren’t too happy settling for just these 600 bottles; they wanted far more. But that wasn’t going to happen with Chinese buyers making their way up and down the food chain. At $47/bottle, this is a downright steal. Demand will exceed supply, friends.