CHÂTEAU LA VIOLETTE

2018 Pomerol

EN PRIMEUR

The nose is floral at first, showing violets and notes of graphite, spice and smoke. Complex and deep. It’s medium-to full-bodied with a gorgeous, velvety texture, elegant tannins and a clean, savory and very long finish. Needs at least three or four years to come around. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)

* 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.

Made by the team at Le Gay, the tiny production, garagiste-styled 2018 Château La Violette is another magical wine, offering a saturated purple color, heavenly notes of black and blue fruits, smoky oak, chocolate, and earth, full-bodied richness, and layers of polished tannins. Despite being a big, powerful wine, nothing is out of place, it has thrilling purity, and is a gorgeous wine any way you look at it. Buy it if you can. Rating: 96-98 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 La Violette reveals delicate notes of rose hip tea, underbrush and wild sage to begin, opening out to Black Forest cake, plum preserves and blackberry pie scents plus wafts of cedar and cinnamon toast. Big, full and voluptuously fruited, it has a firm structure of plush tannins and background freshness, finishing opulent. Rating: 93-95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)

This depth of fruit here is fantastic with so much berry, fig and wet-earth character, not to mention the mushrooms. Full body and polished, chewy tannins. Long and flavorful finish. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)

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)

The wines of Château la Violette should be good but, in truth, have only achieved their potential since the vineyard was bought by Catherine Pere-Verge in 2006. The 1.6 ha vineyard sits atop the Pomerol plateau, next to Château Trotanoy and very near Le Pin. Another plot of vines near to Feytit Clinet that came with the purchase is now used for Château Montveil in order to preserve the absolute quality of Château la Violette. With no chai at la Violette, the wines are made at Château le Gay. It is a tiny vineyard – 1.8ha – and the yields are very small. The vines, many of which are over 60 years old, are 100% Merlot and are planted on clay and gravel soil.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.

Ordering

Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.

Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.

Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.

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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.

Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-

  • +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
  • +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
  • +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.

Storage Options:

Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.