Château Poujeaux - Moulis 2009

Wine Advocate

92 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Poujeaux '09 has a nicely composed, classic bouquet with sous-bois and cedar infused blackberry fruit. Very Medoc in style and it remains unchanged with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with another saline entry. Fine tannins with that marine influence impinging the firm, dry black fruit with a touch of burnt toast on the finish. Tasted January 2013.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe7/31/2012

(50% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 5% each petit verdot and cabernet franc): Bright ruby-red. Cassis, blueberry, graphite and smoky oak aromas are lifted by a floral element. Broad, rich and enveloping, with a restrained sweetness to the pliant flavors of dark berries, spices and graphite. Layered, minerally and long, with firm, building tannins coating the front teeth. Really splendid density and texture for Moulis wine, and a great vintage for Poujeaux. This large chateau, among the finest properties in Moulis, was purchased in 2008 by Philippe Cuvelier, who also owns Clos Fourtet. The same team of manager Nicolas Thienpont and enologist Stephane Derenoncourt was responsible for superb 2009s at both estates.

Wine Advocate

92 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012

The final blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot was cropped very low at 35 hectoliters per hectare. Deep purple, with a nose of subtle smoke, graphite, blueberry and black raspberry fruit as well as some spring flowers, in the mouth a touch of oak makes an appearance, but the wine is full-bodied, rich, inky and unctuously textured due to the high glycerin and alcohol that hits 14% plus. This beauty should drink well for up to two decades.

Jamessuckling.com

93 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012

Intense aromas of orange peel, blackberries and hints of mushrooms. Full body, with a solid core of soft and velvety tannins and a fruity finish. Well structured. One of the best wines from here in years. Try after 2017.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

90-92 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010

Purple ruby. Highly complex, precise nose of red cherry, dark plum, black pepper and wet stone is complicated by cinnamon and clove. Deep and pure on entry, showing an easygoing, approachable charm and very good clarity to its ripe red and black fruit flavors. With its harmonious acidity and fine-grained tannins, this dense wine comes across as powerful yet refined. The long finish features a peppery nuance. By far the best young Poujeaux in years, easily the quality of a good third or even second growth. Tasted four different times (three blind), with only one showing less than outstanding.

Le Figaro

92-94 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010

Ce petit cru de Moulis superbement situé sur un terroir de tout premier ordre, dont on peut encore déguster aujourd’hui les fabuleux 1928 et autres 1970, revient à son plus haut niveau après une bonne dizaine d’années de bouderie. Le vin est dense, relativement tannique, plus sérieux qu’autrefois (ses vieux merlots ont été hélas arrachés) mais avec un très bel équilibre. Le premier grand Poujeaux de l’ère moderne capable de rivaliser avec ses glorieux aînés. Robe très sombre. Nez intense, cassis et épices. En bouche, l’attaque est dense, elle est suivie d’une belle matière serrée, le vin est tannique sans excès avec une très belle rondeur, la finale charmante.

timatkin.com

91 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2010

13.5% alcohol. 51CS, 41M, 4PV, 4CF Demonstrating its pedigree as one of the top names in Moulis in 2009 (it performed better than Chasse-Spleen), this is as reliable as ever. It’s quite an ambitious wine, with lots of oak and deep colour. It flirts with over-ripeness perhaps, but there’s sufficient acidity and structure to cope with the amount of oak. Good length and well-integrated tannins. 10+ years.

Le Point

16,5-17 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010

Coup de Coeur. Fruits noirs, mûre, bouche vive, tendue, bien éveillé, vif, petits tanins ronds. Le fruité et la douceur de Poujeaux, avec un peu pus de remplissage en milieu de bouche. O = 2015 G = 20 ans

Decanter Magazine

16,5 / 20

bySteven Spurrierthe4/30/2010

Black red, very rich and spicy, even exotic berry fruit, good smooth rich flavours backed by firm ripe tannins, lots of depth and good long-term. Drink 2014-22.

La Revue du Vin de France

16-17 / 20

the4/30/2010

Depuis le rachat du cru par la famille Cuvelier (Clos Fourtet) en 2007, Poujeaux renaît. Avec son nez fin de fruits noirs frais et d’épices, ce 2009 est le plus beau vin élaboré par la propriété depuis deux décennies. La bouche est moelleuse, gourmande, avec une belle mâche et un fruit opulent, mais sans lourdeur. De belle persistance, avec une pointe de chauffe en finale, il vieillira à merveille.

Wein Wisser

19 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe4/30/2010

Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Geniales Bouquet, warmer Cabernet, dunkles Malz, Kandis und Backpflaumen, zarte Kräuternoten. Erhaben und füllig am Gaumen, cremige Textur, harmonisch, Lakritze und Black Current im Finale. Das ist der grösste, perfekteste Poujeaux, den ich je verkostet habe, die grossen Jahrgänge 1928, 1945 und 1961 eingeschlossen. 2015–2034

TAST

17 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010

Arôme noble de fruits rouges, à dominante de cassis, échantillon très précis dans son équilibre, sa texture et sa façon d’exprimer son origine, associant finesse aromatique et plénitude de constitution dans une harmonie qui est exactement ce qu’on attend de ce cru : il y a assez longtemps qu’il n’atteignait plus ce niveau.

Wine Advocate

90-92 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/30/2010

Tasted at Vintex. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. A big, deep, confident nose from Poujeaux this year, very pure but actually much more closed than other 2009s. Nice purity and minerality coming through though. The palate has an almost honeyed entry, thick texture but smooth and cohesive, very pure towards the finish with black cherry, boysenberry and blueberry. Long finish. Very fine. Tasted March 2010.

Wine Enthusiast

90-92 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010

Power and structure over extreme juicy fruits, with black plum skins, spice from wood and a firm underlay.

Falstaff

91-93 / 100

byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010

Süße Kirschenfrucht, rauchig unterlegte Cassisnote, schokoladiger Touch, Zwetschkenaroma. Ausgewogen, gute Extraktsüße, präsente Tannine, ernsthafter Charakter, gute Länge, hat Entwicklungspotenzial, schokoladiger Nachhall.

Wine Advocate

90-93 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010

The Cuvelier family that has done so much to resurrect Clos Fourtet purchased this estate that had long been the pride and joy of the Theil family. A large vineyard, and certainly the finest wine of the somewhat forgotten appellation of Moulis, the yields in 2009 were 40 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Soft, fleshy, and opulent, with lots of black currant and black cherry fruit intermixed with hints of cedar and spice box, and an enticing texture result in a wine to drink now and over the next 10-12 years. It is a sleeper of the vintage. (Tasted once.) Drink 2010-2022. (90-93*) points

Anthony Rose

90-92 / 100

byAnthony Rosethe4/26/2010

Dense vivid ruby purple, very attractive fresh dark berry fruit perfume, nicely proportioned oak frames the richly concentrated dark berry fruit quality which is bright and fresh with a fair degree of extraction of tannin that also provides this wine with a framework and structure; the tannins end supple and succulent, so this elegantly styled red looks a very good prospect for the future. 90-92+

Wine Spectator

93-96 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010

Full and very velvety, with round and juicy tannins. Creamy. New ownership here is really making a difference in wine quality; this is the best ever after maybe the 1929.

Jancis Robinson

16 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/7/2010

Very dark. Scented and quite plush and rich and fragrant. Lots of pleasure and very ripe but not overripe. Drink 2013-2018