2009 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre
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Tasting notes
The 2009 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre is showing beautifully, offering up aromas of blackberries and raspberries mingled with hints of pencil shavings, sweet soil tones and violets. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, it's deep and layered, with velvety tannins and a fine-boned, more elegant profile than the more powerful 2010 (this article gave me the excuse to compare the two from my own cellar). Despite its charm, this sensual, vibrant and seamless wine is still the better part of a decade away from peak drinking.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Bel-Air Marquis d’Aligre has a very pure and bewitching bouquet with much more primary fruit than the 2001 and 2005: cranberry, wild strawberry, mint and a touch of iodine. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine line of acidity; very pure with black cherries, wild strawberry and a harmonious and poised finish that is surfeited with energy. Even though it does not quite match the 2010 in terms of complexity and articulation of terroir, this is a beautiful wine. Perhaps this is one vintage where the imprimatur of the growing season is more pronounced than Pierre Boyer’s own, but it still carries it off with style. Tasted at the Bel-Air Marquis d’Aligre dinner. (NM)
Dark crimson. Iodine again on the nose. Firm and drier than most 2009s. Very different from the vintage norm! Quite a bit of tannin and freshness. Very pacy and demanding with strong, dry liquorice notes. Dry, stony finish. Clean and fresh. 16.5++ Points