Wine Advocate / 100 byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013 Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. I really want to find a great Dufort-Vivens but blind tasting ensures that the failings of this Margaux stick out like a sore thumb. This has a funky nose that is a little bretty and that subdues the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with raw tannins. This is very green and vegetal on the finish. Tasted January 2013.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 88 / 100 byStephen Tanzerthe7/31/2012 Bright red-ruby. Slightly peppery aromas of sour cherry, tobacco, menthol and herbs. Juicy, penetrating and rather light in body, with sound acidity and good floral and herbal cut giving life to the middle palate. A bit green and dry, but this nicely delineated claret should drink well over the next 10 to 15 years.
Wine Spectator 90 / 100 byJames Molesworththe3/31/2012 Plump and forward, with a tasty core of dark plum, fig sauce and blackberry preserves rolled together and pushed from behind by apple wood and tobacco notes. A flash of bittersweet cocoa adds length on the finish. Drink now through 2022. –JM
Wine Advocate 89 / 100 byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012 Delicious notes of black olives, unsmoked cigar tobacco, black currants and black cherries jump from the glass of this plump, aromatic, silky, medium to full-bodied Margaux. One of the finest Durfort Vivens yet produced, it is filled with purity and elegance. Enjoy it over the next 15-20 years.
Jamessuckling.com 93 / 100 byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012 Loads of sweet tobacco and berry character, with hints of chocolate on the nose. Full body, with meat and earth. Juicy finish. Tannins build on the finish. Try this in 2018.
Le Figaro 90-92 / 100 byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010 Robe sombre. Nez discret. En bouche, belle attaque franche sur un cassis très pur, le tout est frais et longiligne, demi-corps, un rien végétal en finale.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 88-91 / 100 byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010 Inky ruby. Initially quite herbal and woodsy on the nose, but opened to offer blackcurrant and plum aromas with strong hints of tar and ground coffee. Suave, fine-grained and vibrant, but the inky black fruit, cola and herbal flavors currently lack generosity. Durfort-Vivens is never made in a particularly fat or full style, and though this finishes classy and long, with excellent energy and palate-coating persistence and perfume, this '09 will really need at least five or six years of aging to gain sweetness and flesh. This has the potential to make a very good bottle, but it's as tough as nails now.
La Revue du Vin de France 16-17 / 20 the5/31/2010 Les choses bougent au château Durfort Vivens, le cru vient de lancer un programme de conversion en biodynamie sur 6 ha du terroir et fait désormais appel à Jacques Lurton en tant que conseiller afin d'apporter un nouveau regard sur les vinifications. Le 2009 est l'amorce de ce virage avec un vin plpus en chair, un beau volume, du gras et un côté très mûr. La finale est encore un peu serrée.
Le Point 16 / 20 byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010 Cerise noire, menthe, bouche moelleuse, dense, tannique, un peu confit en finale, épicé, très moelleux, long, puissant, large, petite note confiturée en finale. O=2016 G=20 ans
Falstaff 88-90 / 100 byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010 Powidl, reife Zwetschken, kandierte Orangen, attraktives Bukett. Stoffig, saftige Zwetschkenfrucht, frischer Säurebogen, mittlerer Körper, gut integrierte Tannine, klare Steigerung, ausgewogen, vielseitiger Speisenbegleiter.
TAST 18 / 20 by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010 Le meilleur à notre sens des trente dernières années, et enfin un vin de vrai second cru classé. Nez aristocratique de fleurs et d’épices, frais mais mûr, corps dense, serré sans rudesse, tanin épicé, complexe, caractère cabernet-sauvignon très marqué, incomparable de qualité dans ce millésime, grande personnalité.
Wine Advocate 82-84 / 100 byNeal Martinthe4/30/2010 Tasted at a negociant. This is a little tight on the nose, but I like the purity and the definition here and unlike in recent years there is no sign of any under-ripeness (an nor should there be you may argue.) Blackberry, plum, cedar and a touch of graphite. The palate is medium-bodied, plump on the entry and then obvious over-maturity on the finish that lacks freshness. This is so disappointing after a pleasurable nose. Tasted March 2010.
Wine Enthusiast 90-92 / 100 byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010 Ripely juicy, a wine that feels fresh as much as rich. It shows extreme berry juice as well as acidity. But there is also some density.–
WeinWisser 17 / 20 byRené Gabrielthe4/30/2010 Sattes Purpur-Granat. Pflaumig-erdiges Bouquet, Schalenwürze, Trüffelnuancen, ziemlich tief im Ansatz. Stoffiges Extrakt, intensiv nach schwarzen Beeren und Lakritze, langes Rückaroma mit einer feinen Bitternote. Kann noch zulegen, wird aber einer der besten DVs seit vielen Jahren. 2018–2035
Wine Advocate 87-89 / 100 byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010 Normally the proprietor at this estate refuses to let me taste, so I was surprised when he did so this year. The 2009 Durfort Vivens is an attractive, soft, velvetytextured wine revealing a hint of tapenade intermixed with black currant and blackberry fruit. Medium-bodied and elegant with the silkiness and precision that make this vintage so alluring, it should drink well for 15-20 years. (Tasted once.) Drink 2010-2030. (87-89+) points
Periodic Review of Wine 88-90 / 100 byAlan Duranthe4/28/2010 This is another example of how well the Margaux wines turned out. The dense ruby-purple hued Durfort boasts plum, mulberry, eucalyptus, and crème de cassis perfume. It is medium to full-bodied, untuously-styled, and loaded with juicy mulberry, cherry, rounded texture, and outstanding length. There is nothing out of place in this vintage. Maturity period 2014-2027.
Wine Spectator 89-92 / 100 byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010 Loads of dried flowers, currant and blackberry. Chewy and full. Velvety tannins. Solid core of fruit
Decanter Magazine 17.5 / 20 bySteven Spurrierthe4/9/2010 Fine black red, beautifully expressed Margaux nose with fragrance and depth, a touch smoky and spicy, very good succulent fruit, lovely texture and depth, a charming, serious wine. Drink 2014-25.
Jancis Robinson 17 / 20 byJancis Robinsonthe4/7/2010 Very dark crimson. Heady, sweet and powerful on the nose. Alcoholic. Not one of the most exaggerated, but with a little excess simple sweetness. Pretty good. I’m sure that in a vertical it would look great. Even if in a horizontal it might look slightly less impressive. Long and very slightly toasty. Sinewy finish. Drink 2016-2028