Château Durfort Vivens, 2ème Cru Classé, Margaux, 2009

Tasting Note:

Gonzague Lurton has enlisted the expertise of Jacques Lurton, Alain Moueix and Eric Boissenot to help him at Durfort Vivens. Jacques is something of a Merlot expert, whilst Alain (of Fonroque fame) has helped transform 6 hectares of this estate to fully biodynamic farming. The results are astonishing. What is usually a delightful, but rather lightweight wine has been transformed into a wine of great depth and structure. Under instruction of Jacques Lurton, Durfort have performed a much gentler extraction of their Merlots than normal aiming to retain the lovely texture and sumptuous fruit one associates with Merlot and have relied upon the Cabernets to provide the structure. This has resulted in a much more serious, more concentrated and rather special wine. A perfumed nose of cut violets, crème de cassis, stones, minerals and griotte cherries. This possesses a wonderful silky texture, enormous amounts of character and much more body than one normally associates with this estate. A beautifully poised wine, balanced by wonderfully refined, polished tannins.