CHÂTEAU L'ÉVANGILE
2017 Pomerol Château L'Évangile
For the first ever, this wine has been made with 100% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc). Frost claimed 50% of the harvest. Picking was tricky due to uneven ripening of the grapes. Some rows had to be picked three separate times. Some toasty oak and fruit on the nose. The wine is relatively tight on entry. Medium + bodied, it has a bright and elegant character. Good drive. Fine tannins. The fruit is slightly muted on the palate at this point. 14.6% alcohol. Rating: 91 L&S (Apr 2018)
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The 2017 L’Evangile is picked from 4 September to 3 October. There is no Cabernet Franc since it was frosted over (50% of the vineyard) and so Jean-Pierre Vazart said it is missing some of its power. He marked all the vines with different colors to indicate those affected so that none of the second-generation fruit was used for the Grand Vin. Yields came in at 20hl/ha and it is matured in 100% new oak. It has a deep inky purple hue. The new wood comes over quite strongly as it often does, perhaps missing the Cabernet Franc component to support that level of wood? There are light floral scents: wilted iris and violet that spring up with aeration although I would still like to see more terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, mocha and dark chocolate on the entry with a fine bead of acidity. But I have a nagging question of whether a more prudent approach to the new oak might have engendered a more endearing L’Evangile, I was a bit disturbed by the level of wood tannin on the finish. I will be more than happy to upgrade my score if the tannin will be absorbed during élevage and with bottle age and I will be more than happy to upgrade my score. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
The 2017 L'Evangile is deep garnet-purple in color, featuring a profoundly scented nose of plum preserves, smoked meats, chargrill and cigar box with touches of licorice, tapenade, tar and truffles plus an earthy waft of underbrush. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a lovely purity of black and blue fruits, accented with baking spice notions and framed by plush tannins that offer just the right amount of provocative grip, finishing long and earthy. Rating: 93-95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
This has a lovely silkiness to it, one of the real successes in the appellation in terms of the texture and the quality of the tannins. It's a fairly powerful 100% Merlot with 100% new oak - an unusual combination because the old vine Cabernet Franc was lost to frost in 2017. This is one of the few wines that gets close to the quality of 2016, even if it's not quite there in terms of its completeness. 30 days maceration at reasonable temperatures has brought out the heart of plump blackberry fruit, while delivering subtle tobacco and slate elegance. I like this a lot. 100% organic in the vineyard (2016 was 95% organic) but not certified. 60% grand vin this year, from 40hl/ha. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2018)
Unusually, 100% Merlot because of frosted Cabernet Franc. At the time of tasting this wine en primeur, they had not decided if there would be a second wine (Blason), explained operations manager Jean Pascal Vazart. Very dark crimson. Dark, savoury and a touch meaty – beefy. A hint of oak char. Very ripe and spicy fruit flavours, even a hint of dried fruit. Structured and muscular. Compact tannins – smooth but a touch chewy. Savoury, rather than fruity, and firmly dry on the finish. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 16.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)
Very fine and velvety tannins in the mouth with juicy fruit that gives dark-berry, chocolate and spice character. Medium to full body. Bright acidity. Harmonious and very pretty. Pure merlot. Reminds me of the 2012, but shows a little more ripeness and suppleness. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
There was extensive frost here, and they lost 50% of the crop, winemaker Jean-Pascal Vazart told me, including parcels below Château Beauregard (usually destined for the second wine), near Château Gazin and near Château L’Église-Clinet, and also the vines in front of the château, where the land dips as it runs towards Château Cheval Blanc. As a consequence there was a long harvest, lasting four weeks; they kicked off on September 4th with the Merlot, continuing until October 3rd, while the Cabernet Franc was picked from September 20th and also finished on October 3rd. The first two weeks they brought in first-generation fruit, and in weeks three and four they worked on the second-generation bunches. The grand vin ended up 100% Merlot, the Cabernet Franc frosted and excluded (there is usually between 5% and 13%), and it is all first-generation fruit. The second wine (not tasted here) took more Cabernet Franc and a little of the second-generation fruit. The alcohol is 14.6%, IPT 76, and pH 3.9. This feels dark and spicy on the nose, primary fruits, with a grilled character, spiced with liquorice, praline and oak. The palate is fresh, broad and bold, with a fine substance, a lot of cool structural elements, tense and finessed fruit and very velvety ripe tannins which give the middle a very confident tannic structure. The finish possesses a dry grip, polished, with nuances of cigar box and spiced oak. Very ripe with a really fine density, sinewy and substantial, long, spiced and showing a bright grip at the finish. A very impressive result. Rating: 95-97 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
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.