CHÂTEAU LA VIOLETTE

This is 100% Merlot, as always, from a 1.68-hectare parcel, of which 1.38 hectares are currently in production. It was hand-picked between September 24th and the 28th, at a yield of 25 hl/ha, hand-destemmed, and fermented using microvinification in its own barrels. The alcohol is 14%. And the aromatics are beautiful, very fresh, very pure, with dark black fruits, very primary, with a sweet rose-petal perfume. The palate is fresh, cool, bright and polished, with very dark, concentrated and perfumed black cherry fruits. There are little notes of currant and cocoa bean here, with a floral, rose-petal freshness which emulates the character on the nose. A very pretty but also rich and confident style, plush with a tightly grained bed of tannin beneath, all velvety and sweet, which gives a firm supporting frame for the floral black fruits which lie above. The tannic substance comes through strongly at the finish, but it remains seamless and ripe throughout. Impressive. The élevage will be in 100% new oak. Rating: 96-98 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)

This is full of savour with a gourmet edge that’s imprinted in its DNA; it has seductive fruit and flower aromatics with a silky texture alongside powerful tannins and the generous richness of the vintage. You don't just pass by this wine, it makes you pay attention – it’s Pomerol seduction straight up and signature Péré Vergé style, reminding me again that one of the brilliant things about 2018 is that estates were able to really pick their harvest dates giving them choices and the ability for people to deliver on signatures. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)