CHÂTEAU VIEUX MAILLET
2018 Pomerol
The 2018 Vieux Maillet has a well-defined bouquet, perhaps a little more refined than I have found recent vintages. Black cherries commingle with blueberry, and there’s just a touch of pencil lead in the background courtesy of the 15% Cabernet Franc/Sauvignon. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and quite high-toned, but it retains balance, leading into a sapid, marine-influenced finish. Give this a couple of years in bottle because there is still a touch of bitterness on the aftertaste. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2023 - 2033 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 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.
Plums and light stewed cherries with wet earth and lavender, following through to a full body with rich, velvety tannins that display roundness and firmness at the same time. Rather chewy. Needs two or three years to come around. Drinking range: 2023 - Rating: 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Vieux Maillet is a potent, deep Pomerol endowed with notable textural richness. Inky dark fruit, graphite, lavender, mint, chocolate, new leather and spice lend striking depth. This is a decidedly extroverted wine. My sense is that it is still recovering from bottling, as there is some tightness that needs to resolve. Vieux Maillet is a pretty hedonistic wine, but it has plenty of energy, too. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
A step up over the 2016 (at least at this young stage), the 2018 Château Vieux Maillet is another rounded, sweetly fruited, sexy Pomerol that stays fresh and lively. Loaded with sweet blue fruits, damp earth, and tobacco notes, it has terrific purity of fruit and a clean finish. It should keep for over a decade. Rating: 90-92 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
A blend of 73% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep purple-black colored 2018 Vieux Maillet rolls out of the glass with vibrant scents of crushed blueberries, warm black cherries and raspberry pie with a plum preserves undercurrent and wafts of red roses, tobacco and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm, chewy texture and plenty of freshness backing up the muscular black fruits, finishing on a stewed tea note. Rating: 88-90 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Lots of bright and luscious fruit here with fantastic crushed-raspberry and blueberry character. Full body, smooth and refined tannins and a long and beautiful finish. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
This is a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It starts with a nose of pretty and perfumed hedgerow fruits, touched with a little red cherry skin and pomegranate. The palate is composed, fresh, showing a little more substance through the middle, with a peppery energy, but also a rather loose wrapping of dark fruits. There is a core of grippy tannin which shows through here. This barrel sample is pure, polished and plump, with delightfully piquant red fruits sitting within a richly textured midpalate, dusted with black pepper, and a fresh fruit profile. Long, grippy and bright, this is a very nice effort from this less well-known estate. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
This has depth and a little kick of glamour with good quality on display showing rich black fruits, graphite and some bitter almonds on the finish. It’s a modern, slick Pomerol as this property often is but with a sense of restraint. Owned since 2004 by Hervé Laviale. The harvest took place between 24 September and 10 October. Oak and amphoras were used for ageing. A yield of 26hl/ha. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)
Château Vieux Maillet
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 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.