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Vintage 2009 — A great solar vintage for age-worthy wines
Buying a 2009 wine means choosing one of the great modern vintages, marked by generous ripeness, broad textures and immediate appeal. In several major European wine regions, the year produced rich, expressive wines built to evolve, now showing an attractive balance between fruit, maturity and the first signs of bottle development.
For a red wine from 2009, the greatest successes are mainly found in Bordeaux, the Northern Rhône and Burgundy. For a white wine from 2009, a sweet wine or a vintage Champagne, the most interesting directions are Sauternes and Barsac, white Burgundy and Champagne. Italy completes the vintage with fine references from Piedmont and Tuscany.
For the most prestigious purchases, focus on red Bordeaux 2009, the great Syrah wines of the Northern Rhône, the finest red Burgundies, sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac, white Burgundy from recognised estates and vintage Champagne from leading houses. The vintage is particularly well suited to a cellar, a birth-year gift, an anniversary or a special occasion.
World Web Wines buying guide
The ratings below provide a buying orientation by wine style. They are not a single official score, but an editorial guide based on the reputation of the vintage, critical consensus and the current appeal of the wines for cellaring, collecting and special occasions.
The peak of the vintage: rich, deep, velvety wines, still built for long ageing.
View Bordeaux 2009Great ripe and structured Syrah wines, with fine results in Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie.
Generous, fleshy and seductive Pinot Noir, especially from the great terroirs.
View Burgundy 2009Great rich and long-lived sweet wines, perfect for a symbolic bottle.
View Sauternes 2009Fine bottles from leading estates, with richness and ageing potential.
Ripe and generous cuvées from leading houses, to be chosen for their balance.
World Web Wines estimated editorial ratings. They provide a buying orientation and do not constitute a single official score.
The style of the 2009 vintage
The 2009 vintage stands out for its solar character, high ripeness and generous fruit. The best wines offer broad texture, good concentration and more immediate accessibility than some stricter vintages, while retaining real ageing potential.
The reds are evolving towards notes of ripe black fruit, sweet spices, fine leather, blond tobacco, undergrowth and truffle depending on the region. Whites, sweet wines and Champagnes should be chosen carefully, but the best estates now offer rich, expressive bottles well suited to gifts and great tastings.
Bordeaux 2009 — The great red wine pillar of the vintage
In Bordeaux, 2009 ranks among the great contemporary reference years. The vintage produced powerful, ripe and deep wines, with velvety tannins and generous fruit expression. The Médoc, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and Saint-Émilion offer many high-level bottles.
Great red Bordeaux 2009 is particularly well suited to prestigious purchases: cellar building, anniversaries, birth-year gifts, fine dining or symbolic vintages.
Northern Rhône 2009 — Solar Syrah wines
In the Northern Rhône, 2009 produced powerful, dark and concentrated Syrah wines. Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Cornas and Saint-Joseph from leading producers are fine directions for lovers of characterful reds, well suited to meats, slow-cooked dishes and serious tastings.
Burgundy 2009 — Generous reds and whites from top estates
In Burgundy, the red wines of 2009 offer a solar and seductive expression of Pinot Noir. The wines are often fleshier, more open and more accessible than in more austere vintages, with fine results in the great terroirs.
White Burgundy 2009 can also be interesting from precise estates and leading appellations. At this stage, the best bottles move towards dried fruit, candied citrus, light honey, hazelnut and pastry notes.
Sauternes and Barsac 2009 — Rich and symbolic sweet wines
Sauternes and Barsac are among the finest white wine successes of the vintage. The sweet wines of 2009 can offer richness, aromatic intensity and long ageing capacity, with notes of honey, saffron, roasted apricot, marmalade, candied fruit and sweet spices.
Champagne 2009 — Generous and accessible cuvées
In Champagne, 2009 offers ripe, generous cuvées that are often very accessible. The vintage does not always have the tension of the most classical years, but leading houses produced fine, harmonious bottles that are already very enjoyable to drink.
Italy 2009 — Piedmont and Tuscany
In Italy, 2009 offers attractive bottles for lovers of ripe and expressive red wines. Piedmont provides structured Barolo and Barbaresco, while Tuscany shows fine results in Brunello di Montalcino, Bolgheri and leading Bordeaux-variety wines.
The best 2009 reds: red Bordeaux, Northern Rhône reds and red Burgundy.
The best whites and related styles: Sauternes, Barsac, white Burgundy and vintage Champagne.
Also worth considering: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, Bolgheri and great Italian wines from recognised producers.
The word of the vintage: 2009 is a solar, generous and seductive year, especially strong for red wines, with fine opportunities in age-worthy whites, sweet wines and Champagne.
Choosing a bottle from 2009
Whether you are enriching a cellar, offering a great vintage or celebrating a birth year, 2009 remains a particularly strong choice. Red wines from Bordeaux, the Northern Rhône and Burgundy form the most prestigious pillars, while Sauternes, Barsac, white Burgundy and Champagne offer excellent possibilities for lovers of white, sweet or sparkling wines.
