CHÂTEAU NÉNIN
2014 Pomerol
32% Cabernet Franc, 68% Merlot. Perfumed violet and blueberry scent to the enticing nose. Chewy, grippy and meaty but with impressive rich dark plum and more bitter damson fruit weight. The feel is creamy at the core, but with a grown-up firmness. Drinking range: 2023 - 2033 Rating: 92 L&S (Apr 2015)
* 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.
Back to signature Nenin after the lighter 2013 vintage, with graphite and pencil lead, rich back cherry and blackberry fruits, laced with black chocolate and black truffle. This needs more time, you can feel the tannins closing in on the finish suggesting they need a few more years to fully soften up. 35% new oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2022)
The 2014 Nenin has a simple, clean redcurrant and cranberry scented bouquet that feels a little anonymous, does not quite exude Pomerol. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, nicely balanced with red cherry, cranberry and raspberry laced with black pepper and sage. The finish feels cohesive and persistent. This is a fine Pomerol that should offer 15 to 20 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
The 2014 Nenin is very pretty. Silky, polished and succulent on the palate, this is a wine of total charm. Inky blue/purplish fruit notes make a strong first impression. Topnotes from Cabernet Franc add tons of aromatic intensity and overall brightness. The 2014 has the charm to drink young and enough depth to age for a decade plus. Drinking range: 2019 - 2029 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
Owned by Léoville-Las-Cases and produced in the same vein. Layerd Fruit. Touch of Merlot sweetness. Firm, tight structure. Reticent and austere but will definitely age. (Highly Recommended Pomerol, Decanter.) Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 90+ James Lawther MW, decanter.com (May 2015)
Dark red cherries, plums, new leather, menthol and spices meld together in the 2014 Nenin. A healthy dollop of Cabernet Franc adds pretty aromatic overtones, but the 2014 remains an open, fruit-driven wine to drink young. The blend is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, with a bit more Franc than normal, as the Merlot was more challenged by the summer rains. Tasted two times. Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
The Château Nénin 2014 is a blend of 68% Merlot and 32% Cabernet Franc, the highest percentage ever of the latter due to the ripeness. It has a very fine, quite complex bouquet that is one of the finest that I have encountered, the reorganisation of the vines since Jean-Hubert Delon took over in 1997 enhancing the complexity. There is real finesse here, something not always apparent in older vintages in Nénin. The palate is supple and fleshy on the entry. There is a gentle grip on the palate coupled with finesse that is not diminished as its fruit intensifies on the finish. One of the most precise Nénin’s that I have encountered at this stage. Drinking range: 2019 - 2035 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Not that deep a crimson. Lovely Cabernet Franc perfume dominates the nose. Very sweet start and then savoury, sinewy, quite Médocain build. Refined and refreshing. Muscular. Fine. Drinking range: 2022 - 2038 Rating: 17- Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
Rich on the nose the palate has depth of flavour a mix of black plum and cassis. The sweetness the mid richness is balanced by freshness at the back the finish bright with a mix of red fruits. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 89-91 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
Picked later than the Delon properties in Saint Julien (for the first time), this wine benefitted from an unusually high percentage of Cabernet Franc, which added some structure. Smoky, dense and quite backward, but this has polished grass and green pepper notes, some graphite and plump tannins. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
A firm and lightly chewy young Nenin with an attractive berry, chocolate and walnut character. Very good length. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Nénin
Two things make Château Nenin standout from the rest of Pomerol – at 32ha it is considerably larger than most in in this crowded appellation; and Nenin has a real bona fide 19th Century château at its core rather than the more usual small shed. Infact it appears more along the lines of something one might find in the Haut-Médoc which is perhaps fitting as, since 1987, it has been in common ownership with Château Potensac and the great Saint Julien estate of Château Leoville Las Cases. As one might expect with such a noble stable-mate, quality has advanced rapidly in line with a lot of healthy investment in the estate. The vineyards are planted with 78% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon with an average age of around 30 years. The second wine is Fugue de Nenin.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (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 £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
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) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.