![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/le-pin-pomerol.jpg\")
Chateau Le Pin<\/p><\/div>\n
Denis Durantou<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-leglise-clinet.jpg\")
Our tour began, as they so frequently seem to, at an enormous highpoint. With the fog settling over Pomerol, we were welcomed at the cellar door of the late Denis Durantou<\/strong>, by his daughters Constance and No\u00e9mie. There was such a wonderful, hospitable atmosphere in the tiny winery, with both seemingly very eager to prove that they were capable of seizing the reins going forward \u2013 any degree of nervousness exhibited was utterly unnecessary. We\u2019ve always been huge supporters of the \u2019petite\u2019 wines from the Durantou family and this year is no exception \u2013 they showed wonderfully, supplying the depth and elegance you\u2019d expect from far higher priced wine. Montlandrie was a particular favourite, but each should be (and I\u2019m sure will be) sought after.<\/p>\nCh\u00e2teau L’Eglise Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nL’Eglise Clinet had shifted up a register from what you might expect in this vintage. There\u2019s still dark chocolate and a concentrated rich core, but accented by violets and lots of red berry. We thoroughly enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-client.jpg\")
Onwards to Ch\u00e2teau Clinet, where they always quite literally roll out the red carpet. Monique was on hand to take us through the wine and explain the challenges of the vintage. As a baseline for success in 2021, it seemed essential to have a good poker face and play the meteorological odds. With the saving grace of an Indian summer, the best producers picked really late (mid-October for some) to maximise their ripeness. A move which no doubt lost yield but was necessary to create a higher quality product. Clinet did a fine job here, and the most marked character of the wine is its lancing freshness (it has the highest proportion of Cabernet in the blend that they\u2019ve used since 2003 \u2013 but please don\u2019t take that as a valid comparison, it isn\u2019t). Whilst retaining the depth and charm you would expect, this acidity pulled the whole thing perfectly into line, balancing on a razor edge. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if in ten years’ time, it\u2019s a wine everyone opens and wonders why they didn\u2019t buy more.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau Feytit-Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Feytit-Clinet.jpg\")
So here it comes again. \u2018Don\u2019t you think this is so much like Burgundy<\/em>\u2019, I bleated to David as we pulled into the driveway of Feytit-Clinet. As much as he was tiring of the comparison, it really was. Jeremy had just finished pulling up some of his smudge pots (we got stuck behind their little tractor earlier) and the garden was replete with a football goal, a stack of these frost candles and an old fermentation tank. It all felt very proper. What\u2019s more, we were welcomed, not into a grand salon, a beautiful barrel cellar nor a purpose-built space, but just into his little dining room. Family pictures were on the wall and the table had been covered with a plastic sheet to stop clumsy English wine merchants from dribbling on it.<\/p>\nThe wine was fantastic. One that I daresay had what one might refer to as Pomerol \u2018typicity\u2019. It didn\u2019t defy the vintage in any unpleasant way, but pushed toward richness and muscularity, with generosity of dark fruit backed up by a touch of pleasing oak. We enjoyed it very much.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nVieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Vieux](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Vieux-Chateau-Certanjpg-300x300.jpg\")
Speaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Pomerol](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pomerol-vineyard-300x300.jpg\")
Continuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
Our tour began, as they so frequently seem to, at an enormous highpoint. With the fog settling over Pomerol, we were welcomed at the cellar door of the late Denis Durantou<\/strong>, by his daughters Constance and No\u00e9mie. There was such a wonderful, hospitable atmosphere in the tiny winery, with both seemingly very eager to prove that they were capable of seizing the reins going forward \u2013 any degree of nervousness exhibited was utterly unnecessary. We\u2019ve always been huge supporters of the \u2019petite\u2019 wines from the Durantou family and this year is no exception \u2013 they showed wonderfully, supplying the depth and elegance you\u2019d expect from far higher priced wine. Montlandrie was a particular favourite, but each should be (and I\u2019m sure will be) sought after.<\/p>\nCh\u00e2teau L’Eglise Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nL’Eglise Clinet had shifted up a register from what you might expect in this vintage. There\u2019s still dark chocolate and a concentrated rich core, but accented by violets and lots of red berry. We thoroughly enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nOnwards to Ch\u00e2teau Clinet, where they always quite literally roll out the red carpet. Monique was on hand to take us through the wine and explain the challenges of the vintage. As a baseline for success in 2021, it seemed essential to have a good poker face and play the meteorological odds. With the saving grace of an Indian summer, the best producers picked really late (mid-October for some) to maximise their ripeness. A move which no doubt lost yield but was necessary to create a higher quality product. Clinet did a fine job here, and the most marked character of the wine is its lancing freshness (it has the highest proportion of Cabernet in the blend that they\u2019ve used since 2003 \u2013 but please don\u2019t take that as a valid comparison, it isn\u2019t). Whilst retaining the depth and charm you would expect, this acidity pulled the whole thing perfectly into line, balancing on a razor edge. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if in ten years’ time, it\u2019s a wine everyone opens and wonders why they didn\u2019t buy more.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau Feytit-Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nSo here it comes again. \u2018Don\u2019t you think this is so much like Burgundy<\/em>\u2019, I bleated to David as we pulled into the driveway of Feytit-Clinet. As much as he was tiring of the comparison, it really was. Jeremy had just finished pulling up some of his smudge pots (we got stuck behind their little tractor earlier) and the garden was replete with a football goal, a stack of these frost candles and an old fermentation tank. It all felt very proper. What\u2019s more, we were welcomed, not into a grand salon, a beautiful barrel cellar nor a purpose-built space, but just into his little dining room. Family pictures were on the wall and the table had been covered with a plastic sheet to stop clumsy English wine merchants from dribbling on it.<\/p>\nThe wine was fantastic. One that I daresay had what one might refer to as Pomerol \u2018typicity\u2019. It didn\u2019t defy the vintage in any unpleasant way, but pushed toward richness and muscularity, with generosity of dark fruit backed up by a touch of pleasing oak. We enjoyed it very much.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nVieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\nContinuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nOnwards to Ch\u00e2teau Clinet, where they always quite literally roll out the red carpet. Monique was on hand to take us through the wine and explain the challenges of the vintage. As a baseline for success in 2021, it seemed essential to have a good poker face and play the meteorological odds. With the saving grace of an Indian summer, the best producers picked really late (mid-October for some) to maximise their ripeness. A move which no doubt lost yield but was necessary to create a higher quality product. Clinet did a fine job here, and the most marked character of the wine is its lancing freshness (it has the highest proportion of Cabernet in the blend that they\u2019ve used since 2003 \u2013 but please don\u2019t take that as a valid comparison, it isn\u2019t). Whilst retaining the depth and charm you would expect, this acidity pulled the whole thing perfectly into line, balancing on a razor edge. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if in ten years’ time, it\u2019s a wine everyone opens and wonders why they didn\u2019t buy more.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau Feytit-Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nSo here it comes again. \u2018Don\u2019t you think this is so much like Burgundy<\/em>\u2019, I bleated to David as we pulled into the driveway of Feytit-Clinet. As much as he was tiring of the comparison, it really was. Jeremy had just finished pulling up some of his smudge pots (we got stuck behind their little tractor earlier) and the garden was replete with a football goal, a stack of these frost candles and an old fermentation tank. It all felt very proper. What\u2019s more, we were welcomed, not into a grand salon, a beautiful barrel cellar nor a purpose-built space, but just into his little dining room. Family pictures were on the wall and the table had been covered with a plastic sheet to stop clumsy English wine merchants from dribbling on it.<\/p>\nThe wine was fantastic. One that I daresay had what one might refer to as Pomerol \u2018typicity\u2019. It didn\u2019t defy the vintage in any unpleasant way, but pushed toward richness and muscularity, with generosity of dark fruit backed up by a touch of pleasing oak. We enjoyed it very much.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nVieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\nContinuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
Onwards to Ch\u00e2teau Clinet, where they always quite literally roll out the red carpet. Monique was on hand to take us through the wine and explain the challenges of the vintage. As a baseline for success in 2021, it seemed essential to have a good poker face and play the meteorological odds. With the saving grace of an Indian summer, the best producers picked really late (mid-October for some) to maximise their ripeness. A move which no doubt lost yield but was necessary to create a higher quality product. Clinet did a fine job here, and the most marked character of the wine is its lancing freshness (it has the highest proportion of Cabernet in the blend that they\u2019ve used since 2003 \u2013 but please don\u2019t take that as a valid comparison, it isn\u2019t). Whilst retaining the depth and charm you would expect, this acidity pulled the whole thing perfectly into line, balancing on a razor edge. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if in ten years’ time, it\u2019s a wine everyone opens and wonders why they didn\u2019t buy more.<\/p>\nCh\u00e2teau Feytit-Clinet<\/strong><\/h4>\nSo here it comes again. \u2018Don\u2019t you think this is so much like Burgundy<\/em>\u2019, I bleated to David as we pulled into the driveway of Feytit-Clinet. As much as he was tiring of the comparison, it really was. Jeremy had just finished pulling up some of his smudge pots (we got stuck behind their little tractor earlier) and the garden was replete with a football goal, a stack of these frost candles and an old fermentation tank. It all felt very proper. What\u2019s more, we were welcomed, not into a grand salon, a beautiful barrel cellar nor a purpose-built space, but just into his little dining room. Family pictures were on the wall and the table had been covered with a plastic sheet to stop clumsy English wine merchants from dribbling on it.<\/p>\nThe wine was fantastic. One that I daresay had what one might refer to as Pomerol \u2018typicity\u2019. It didn\u2019t defy the vintage in any unpleasant way, but pushed toward richness and muscularity, with generosity of dark fruit backed up by a touch of pleasing oak. We enjoyed it very much.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nVieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\nContinuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
So here it comes again. \u2018Don\u2019t you think this is so much like Burgundy<\/em>\u2019, I bleated to David as we pulled into the driveway of Feytit-Clinet. As much as he was tiring of the comparison, it really was. Jeremy had just finished pulling up some of his smudge pots (we got stuck behind their little tractor earlier) and the garden was replete with a football goal, a stack of these frost candles and an old fermentation tank. It all felt very proper. What\u2019s more, we were welcomed, not into a grand salon, a beautiful barrel cellar nor a purpose-built space, but just into his little dining room. Family pictures were on the wall and the table had been covered with a plastic sheet to stop clumsy English wine merchants from dribbling on it.<\/p>\nThe wine was fantastic. One that I daresay had what one might refer to as Pomerol \u2018typicity\u2019. It didn\u2019t defy the vintage in any unpleasant way, but pushed toward richness and muscularity, with generosity of dark fruit backed up by a touch of pleasing oak. We enjoyed it very much.<\/p>\n
Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\nContinuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
Speaking of enjoying things, we were then whisked up the road to stand for 10 minutes looking at what is perhaps Pomerol\u2019s greatest wisteria plant. Lord knows how old the thing draped over Vieux Ch\u00e2teau Certain is, but it\u2019s a very beautiful vine on one of the prettiest Ch\u00e2teau in Pomerol. Moving on from a horticultural blog I perhaps needs to engage with in my own time, I daresay this was the wine of the vintage. The perfume was spectacular and, upon entering I started looking for a spittoon (cannily hidden behind a pillar in the cellar) but after my first mouthful, I didn\u2019t care about its location. The wine struck that rare chord where everything aligns perfectly \u2013 sapid fruit, fresh acids and wonderfully savoury tannins that turn \u2018I\u2019ll just have a glass\u2019 into drinking the whole bottle. This will be a wine that you\u2019ll be desperate to get your hands on and drink.<\/p>\nCh\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile<\/strong><\/h4>\nContinuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nCh\u00e2teau La Conseillante<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt’s easy, at the end of the day, to lose focus. You\u2019ve tasted a lot of wine, had a lot of conversations and travelled quite a few meandering miles (perhaps even had a nice lunch, if you\u2019re lucky \u2013 David and I ended up grabbing something in what we thought was the equivalent of a French trucker\u2019s caf\u00e9, so naturally was probably a shade better than a British gastro pub). It was, with such fatigue and in slight haste to finish the tour, that we entered Conseillante. Sometimes you flit through these last appointments, taste what you expect to taste, then disappear, but when handed a glass of this absolutely remarkable Pomerol, we were no longer concerned whether we\u2019d be late for our dinner. A few days down the line, when you\u2019re bumping into other wine merchants or being asked by other producers \u2018what have you had which was really good\u2019, Conseillante was always the first to come to my mind. Not just because it was very finely made, but the aromatic intensity and spectrum were something totally unique \u2013 not replicated by any other wine we tasted and quite possibly something I\u2019d never experienced from a Pomerol before. Lavender and violet shot their way out of the glass. It was so elegant; I was momentarily transported to the C\u00f4tes de Nuits. They\u2019re now using less new oak and lower toasts whilst cooling the chai, all to emphasise this prettiness. The palate still packed a hit of sensual fruit, but this is a vintage which will haunt you for its elegance.<\/p>\n
Continuing our low-key adventure, Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Evangile was next on the list. It was difficult here to deduce who had more energy, the wine of Juliette Couderc, their new technical director. Having worked all over the world (most recently three years exploring the terroirs of China) Juliette only joined l\u2019Evangile just before the 2020 harvest, but it\u2019s obvious why Saskia de Rothschild hired her. \u2018I talk too much\u2019 she said to us, as one of her colleagues popped her head around the door of the tasting room like a TV producer trying to wrap things up (then carried on!). Some of the top wineries, when asked what their plans for the future, give a more nonchalant shrug as if almost to say \u2018why re-write the perfect recipe\u2019. Here, there\u2019s a sense of pioneering spirit, driven by Juliette, to make something remarkable even more so. The most poignant descriptors for 2021 L\u2019Evangile are velvety and fine. The texture of the tannins, fine satin beads, wash through the wine, which packs ample concentration, especially given the vintage.<\/p>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-de-sales-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"2021](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/CTA-Bordeaux-EP-browse.png\")
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