LA CHENADE
2015 Lalande de Pomerol
Another lovely wine from Denis Durantou, gentle, appetising, beautifully long, and still fresh and spicy. Rating: 89-90 L&S (Apr 2016)
* 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 2015 La Chenade has a high-toned bouquet with Maraschino cherry, boysenberry, pine and a touch of pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins. This is woody and raw toward the finish. Based on this bottle, I would be concerned about its evolution. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners. Rating: 87 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2025)
The 2015 La Chenade has a light bouquet with brambly red fruit laced with undergrowth and cigar smoke aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet tannin, but it feels a little rigid at the moment and needs more depth to develop on the finish. Not bad, in need of more bottle age. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2019)
This shows plenty of wet earth and blueberry and black-olive character. Full body, fine and round tannins and a juicy finish. Hot stones and gravel. Intense. Yes. Drink now or hold. Drinking range: 2018 - Rating: 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
Denis Durantou's 2015 La Chenade is just as delicious from bottle as it was from barrel. The 20% Cabernet Franc gives the flavors lift and nuance to play off the bright red berry fruit. Hints of tobacco, mint, crushed flowers, licorice and spices add lovely shades of nuance. I very much like the energy and overall tension here. Drinking range: 2018 - 2027 Rating: 90 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
Denis Durantou’s wine comes from gravel soils and tends to have a mineral note to it. This is scented, attractive and full of succulent blackberry, raspberry and bramble fruit flavours, supported by tannins that creep up on you and provide structure. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 91 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 30% new oak. Purplish crimson. Quite sweet and meaty. Gentle - obviously not top drawer but fun and easy. A bit tart and dry on the end. Needs food. Wait awhile? Fine sandy tannins in abundance. Sweet oak. Drinking range: 2020 - 2027 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
A Denis Durantou (L’Eglise-Clinet) wine. Forward and perfumed on the nose in the red fruit spectrum. Lighter tannic frame but attractive. A touch dry on the finish. Drinking range: 2020 - 2023 Rating: 86 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 La Chenade is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc picked between September 15-25 and on October 5 respectively, cropped at 45 hectoliters per hectare and matured in 30% new oak. This Lalande-de-Pomerol moves towards red fruit on the nose, crushed strawberry and raspberry pastilles, candied and somehow...joyful. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very fine in the mouth with a keen line of acidity. This is a very cohesive La Chenade, elegant and composed with a touch of salinity towards the finish. This is a graceful La Chenade that should drink early, but clearly has the substance to offer 12-15 years of drinking pleasure. Drinking range: 2018 - 2032 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 La Chenade, Denis Durantou's entry-level Lalande de Pomerol, hits the palate with a rush of intense ripe red fruit, smoke, leather, tobacco and exotic spices. This juicy, exuberant red will drink nicely with minimal cellaring. The flamboyance of the year comes through loud and clear. Chenade is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc taken from the gravelly portion of Durantou's Lalande de Pomerol property. Harvest started on September 15 with the Merlots and wrapped up on October 5 with the Cabernet Franc. Rating: 87-89 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
This is 80% Merlot, picked between September 15th and the 25th, and 20% Cabernet Franc, picked October 5th. Yield 45 hl/ha. A very dark, spicy, roasted-fruit nose, very appealing, with supple cherry fruit, and a rather direct character. Spot on with a very pure, poised, fresh and precise character on the palate, defined with dark, sweet, spicy peppery fruit. A very fine poise, with a lovely core of ripe tannins, and a faintly gravelly seam to the texture, Really good quality, especially when you think this is just the second wine, Surely the best ever La Chenade? Top work. Rating: 15.5-16.5/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Very fresh, with a bright mineral edge holding sway, followed by enticing blood orange and cherry flavors. The toast is moderate, relying more on freshness in the end. Rating: 90-93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
La Chenade
One of the brightest stars of Pomerol is undoubtedly Denis Durantou of the highly acclaimed Château l’Eglise-Clinet. Thankfully this glory is not enough for Denis and he also has a smaller estate in the less esteemed Lalande de Pomerol. Here Denis' skill and experience can produce magnificent wines that are a fraction of the price. The property is Château les Cruzelles, where he makes both Les Cruzelles but also La Chenade, another Lalande-de-Pomerol cuvée from the younger vines. He was even making this with Cruzelles’ grapes before he bought the estate in 2000. We champion this wine every year on primeur as it represents such consistently good value for money. Beautiful Bordeaux wine at an incredibly fair price - a rare gem.
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.