BLASON DE L'ÉVANGILE
2023 Pomerol Château L'Évangile
Good quality, well constructed, enticing floral aromatics, raspberry fruits, freshly cut herbs, a little tight on the finish, not as plush last year's vintage but plenty to enjoy. Almost 80% of the wine comes from the sandier soils harvested early in September, with 15% new oak for ageing, with 20% kept out of oak entirely. Harvest September 4 to 28, 42hl/h yield, a record in recent years here - and this after green harvesting (while retaining leaf cover to guard against the heat spikes). Certified organic since 2021. 15% of overall production in Blason. No need to wait too long to being drinking. Drinking range: 2026 - 2036 Rating: 91-100 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)
75cl bottles (case of 6)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2023 Blason de L’Évangile is a very pretty second wine. Pliant and expressive, with fine persistence, the 2023 offers up plenty of dark-toned fruit, along with touches of spice, leather, tobacco and incense that build with time. The darker, riper side of the year comes through nicely here. This is an unusual Blason that is mostly Merlot, with just a touch of Franc. There's a touch of tightness on the finish that hopefully will soften with élevage. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2024)
The blend in Blason is 5% Cabernet Franc with 95% Merlot, principally because much of the Cabernet Franc was of good quality this year, even from young vines, so a lot went into the grand vin. The Cabernet Franc largely comes from a parcel picked late, a trial Juliette wanted to make which didn’t work out. Blackberry fruit and powdered chalk here, dried cherries, griottes, smoke and toast. The palate shows immediate concentration and texture, with sweet blackberry and cherry fruits, leading to a finish of sweet impact and fine-grained tannins, framed by fresh acidity. A very convincing and approachable second wine which is set to give pleasure. It won’t need too long in barrel or bottle to be ready. The alcohol is about 14.5%. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)
Bursting with aromas of dark berries, plums, cherries and licorice, the 2023 Blason de l'Evangile is medium-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with a supple, succulent palate framed by velvety tannins. Rating: 89-91 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)
The depth of fruit and creamy tannin structure show the class and beauty of this wine. It’s rich in ever-so-polished tannins that caress every inch of your palate. Medium to full body. Lovely finish. 95% merlot and 5% cabernet franc. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Château L'Évangile
Sandwiched between Château Petrus to the north and Château Cheval Blanc to the south are the vineyards of Château l’Evangile. In the latter part of the 19th Century l’Evangile’s wines were rated as second only to Petrus, reflecting the glory of its illustrious neighbours.
Château l’Evangile’s origins lay in an estate called Domaine de Mautretat that was broken up in the early years of the 18th Century with a Mme Conseillan taking one part (that went on to be next-door neighbours Château Conseillante) with a reverend gentleman called M. Léglise purchasing the other, to be called Château Fazilleau until renamed l’Evangile – the Gospel – in the late 19th Century, presumably in keeping with having St Peter (Petrus) next door.
Today Château l’Evangile is owned by Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite), they having purchased the estate in 1990 from the Ducasse family one of whose forebears, Paul Chaperon, had built the château in 1874. DBR have injected a whole new level of investment and improvement to once again raise l’Evangile to the very top echelon of Pomerol. The 22ha of vineyard and planted for the most part on an usual gravel band that runs through the more usual clay soil. They are planted with 79% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are aged in barrel for between 12 and 24 months, although in more recent vintages they, like many producers in France, have also used larger oak foudres, amphorae and concrete vats alongside the traditional barriques bordelaises of 225 l.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.