Jamessuckling.com 91 / 100 byJames Sucklingthe7/14/2014 Lovely balance to this wine with ripe berries and plums and hints of sweet tobacco. Full body, chewy tannins yet polished and pretty. Better in 2015.
Wine Advocate 90 / 100 byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013 Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Haut-Marbuzet ‘09 has a fragrant, lifted bouquet with blackberry, mulberry and crushed stone. It is slightly understated but very precise. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins, clean fresh red berry fruit, but it is missing complexity on the stubborn, foursquare finish that is atypical for this usually more flamboyant cru. Tasted January 2013.(90+ point)
Wine Spectator 89 / 100 byJames Molesworththe3/31/2012 A bit old-school in feel, with a mix of roasted mesquite, tobacco and mulled spice notes followed by steeped blackberry and roasted plum fruit. Noticeably smoky on the finish, with a slightly burly edge. Best from 2013 through 2023. –JM
Wine Advocate 87 / 100 byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012 For the last ten years, many Bordeaux chateaux have backed off the oak treatment, but not Haut-Marbuzet. Vivid, even aggressive vanillin and toast wage an inner struggle with some black currants and black cherries in this flamboyant, overtly woody style of wine. It is medium-bodied, has good to very good concentration, but is certainly not one of the great classics from this well-known property in St.-Estephe. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
Le Figaro 92-94 / 100 byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010 Robe grenat. Nez assez complexe. En bouche, joli fruit, très aromatique, équilibré, élégant, belle longueur. Un grand vin du niveau de 2005 et le dépasse même.
La Revue du Vin de France 17-18 / 20 the5/31/2010 Ce 2009 sera le meilleur vin du château depuis le 1990. Son fruit exubérant et sa bouche sphérique en font un immense charmeur. Un grand Haut Marbuzet qui combine à la fois sa légendaire suavité et beaucoup de fond.
Le Point 17 / 20 byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010 Fruits noirs, cassis, sucrosité, tarte à la myrtille, bouche ronde, moelleuse, douce, longue, bien crémeuse. Vin long, à la finale bien fruitée, crémeux et persistant. 13,8° en alcool. O=2014 G=20 ans
Falstaff 91-93 / 100 byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010 Zart floral unterlegte dunkle Beerenfrucht, mineralische Nuancen, frische Feigen. Saftig und lebendig, frisch strukturiert, reife Herzkirschen, bleibt gut haften, präsente Tannine, die gut integriert sind, balanciert, gutes Zukunftspotenzial.
TAST 17 / 20 by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010 Frais et très fin, Haut-Marbuzet est un achat sûr en 2009, raffiné et incroyablement gourmand.
Wine Advocate 90-92 / 100 byNeal Martinthe4/30/2010 Tasted at a negociant. This has a typical Haut-Marbuzet bouquet: soft and rounded, very plush with unashamed exotic fruit interlacing the red-berries, hints of honey and marmalade. The palate is full-bodied with grippy tannins, very toasty at the moment with the new oak dominating. But there is good balance on the finish, a firm backbone here and the persistency is linear but long. Very fine.
Decanter Magazine 16 / 20 bySteven Spurrierthe4/30/2010 Good extraction of quite ripe, earthy Merlot fruit, fleshy spice and length, good oak, well-polished wine. Drink 2013-20. (16-plus points)
Wine Enthusiast 93-95 / 100 byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010 Richly smooth wine, with great polished fruits and solid tannins. Power and juicy extract.
Wein Wisser 18 / 20 byRené Gabrielthe4/30/2010 Sattes Purpur-Granat, dicht in der Mitte, lila-blutroter Schimmer aussen. Ausladend aromatisches Bouquet mit viel Pflaumen, Cassis und reifen schwarzen Kirschen, ein Hauch Mokka und Kandis. Samtener Gaumen, fleischig-sandiges Extrakt, viel Aromenrückhalt. Ein massiver, vielleicht etwas gezogener Wein, aber ganz typisch Haut-Marbuzet. Für Leute, die eichenwürzige Powerweine suchen, genau der Richtige! 2014–2028.
Jancis Robinson 15,5 / 20 byJancis Robinsonthe4/7/2010 Sweet and unfocused. Plummy and picked a little late – or too much Merlot? Perfectly nice drink but not much to do with St-Estèphe apart from the minerally finish. Drink 2014-2018