Clos des Papes (Avril) Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2009

97 points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "Still relatively young tasting, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape accents lush red fruit with hints of leather and Asian five spice powder. It's full-bodied and velvety, ripe, plush and long, a completely delicious taste experience that culminates in a lick of salted licorice. Owners should count themselves lucky to have purchased some, as this still has a decade or more of life ahead of it. As Paul-Vincent Avril said, 2009 is still a baby—decant it if you can.' Drink: 2012-2035. (Aug 2019)"

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2009 Châteauneuf Du Pape is showing beautifully, with an incredibly expressive, complex, and nuanced perfume of sweet red and black fruits, ground pepper, sappy garrigue, licorice, and leather. While this was a monster on release, it's nothing but elegance and finesse today, with a seamless mouthfeel, integrated tannins, and a great finish. I love it today, yet it has another decade or more of prime drinking with, I suspect, a gradual decline thereafter. As I’ve often written, it’s almost impossible to have too much Clos des Papes in the cellar! Drink: 2025-2039. (6/9/25)"

97 points Matt Walls (Decanter): "Taking on some lovely forest floor scents, with polished wood and a touch of brown sugar to the strawberry fruit. It’s full-bodied, really quite voluminous and powerful. Intense blackberry, liquorice and seared meat characters present themselves on the palate – this is big, structured, powerful and tannic. The alcohol is showing just a little bit, but there's a lovely menthol side bringing freshness. This was the product of a very long fermentation, so it was stressful to vinify. I've been lucky enough to taste this several times this year, and there is some bottle variation, but this was a particularly good one. Drinking Window: 2025-2050. (9/11/22):

96 points Wine Spectator: "Sinewy and reserved, with a light dusting of cocoa powder over the tangy damson plum, red licorice and cassis notes. The long, supple finish, with a lovely wafting note of Lapsang souchong tea, is packed with minerality and tight-grained tannins that will need time to fully evolve. One of the more backward 2009s, though this should pick up steam in the cellar. Best from 2013 through 2025. (11/15/11)"

95 points Robert Parker: "The 2009 is showing better out of bottle than it was last year. Gorgeous kirsch liqueur notes, raspberry jam, forest floor, spice box, new saddle leather and a peppery spiciness are all present in this deep, voluptuously textured, open-knit Clos des Papes, which is atypically forward, luscious and approachable already. These wines often need a good 5-10 years of cellaring in the more structured vintages, but the 2009 is gorgeous from the get-go. This full-bodied, deep, concentrated wine has a deep purple color and should drink well for 20-25 years without ever really closing down. Readers may want to think of this as a slightly more concentrated version of the 2003, which is one of the great stars of that vintage. Drink: 2011-2036. (Oct 2011)"

95 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "Black raspberries, cherry, floral and bay leaf on the nose, with silky textures, freshness, cherry griotte and raspberry flavors that feel soft, fresh and silky on the medium bodied palate. The wine leave you with sweet cherries on the end note. (Aug 2014)"