Tasting Bordeaux en primeur 2009
Writing for New Jersey-based newspaper the Star Ledger, John Foy has given his thoughts on his experience of two days' tasting Bordeaux en primeur 2009.
It is perhaps no surprise that he ranked chateaux Latour and Lafite-Rothschild as "excellent" on the first day, while chateau Forts de Latour "exhibited rich blackberry-and-black cherry-flavoured fruit, good tannins and acidity and a balanced finish".
Mr Foy's second day took him to the wines of Margaux, which he calls the "transition appellation" - the region whose chateaux use more merlot than their northern counterparts and more cabernet sauvignon than the Right Bank vintners.
Chateaux Palmer, Brane-Cantenac, Kirwan and Cantenac-Brown all received an "excellent" ranking from the critic, with chateau Palmer's second wine Alter Ego described as comparable to the first tier, "but with just a tad less balance or length".
A chef and former restaurateur, Jon Foy now mans the Wine Odyssey website and serves as an adviser to private collectors.