2009 Château La Prade - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Côtes de Francs (8/23/2012)
I’ve been buying and drinking La Prade since the 2000 vintage, and have seen the continual increase in richness from vintage to vintage. The 2009 is interesting in that it continue the trend of increasing richness, but has better balance than some of the intervening years. There’s lots of ripe red and black fruit, some oak and a little bit of earth. The tannins are present but not drying, and so the overall drinking experience is very pleasant. It’s not a notably complex wine, and it won’t win any prizes for terroir expression, but it is a very nice drink.
Completely agree David. I haven’t had the 2009, but prior vintages were delicious and cheap, which is a winning combination. It is, by the way, a combination the bordelais do extremely well, despite what you read in the papers.
Agreed. If I want relatively inexpensive Cabernet or Merlot based wines I can always do well in Bordeaux. La Prade & Hourtin Ducasse are my normal go-to picks, but there are others…many others.
I just finished a bottle - pretty solid - but perhaps it was better younger from comments above.
http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8492