BLASON DE L'ÉVANGILE
2022 Pomerol Château L'Évangile
88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. 14.2% alc. Harvest was 29 August – 14 September. 30% of the crop was used for Blason. The plateau of Pomerol has the hottest climate in Bordeaux, and the team at L’Evangile had to make some critical decisions during the summer to ensure they harvested their bunches in the best possible condition. The vines suffered from the drought in August, and, come harvest time, the fresher east-facing side of the vines was picked and kept separate from the more cooked west-facing side. In the end, the decision was taken to use all of the east side but only a small proportion of the west side and the result is a daring, indulgent and exciting Blason, built from gentle extraction and resulting in exquisite balance. This is more of a long-lived Blason than I have seen before, and I feel it might make it ten years of age before it hits its peak. I know a lot of Blason devotees, and this sublime vintage will likely inspire a stampede when the wine is released onto the market. Rating: 17.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)
* 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 2022 Blason de L'Évangile has a straightforward bouquet with dark berry fruit, tar and a subtle marine influence that emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded and supple tannins. It's dense for a Blason, with blackberry and raspberry mixed with black tea toward the finish. Maybe just missing a little tension, but I appreciate the peppery element on the aftertaste. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2023)
Ruby red in colour, deep nutmeg and clove spice, plush velvety blackberry fruits, with cracked pepper, fig and damson notes. The vintage character is clear in the exuberance, with some austerity to the tannins on the finish. 50% of the production in Blason (a slight rise from usual). 8% amphora for aging, plus 10% in lage wooden casks. 3.8ph, irrigation on young vines. 2nd year of organic certification. Harvest August 29, earliest ever, for the west-facing side of the vines only. Drinking range: 2025 - 2036 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2023)
The second wine from L'Evangile represents 50% of the production this year. It shows all the qualities of the first wine in a more flattering, tender and elegant mode. More extroverted, it is also more forward. Rating: 90-92 La Revue du Vin de France (May 2023)
88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Timid nose but juicy on the palate, the tannins offering a certain rigour. Slight glow of alcohol on the finish. (JL) 14% Drinking range: 2026 - 2034 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)
A juicy wine with hints of salt and cloves with hazelnuts. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a bright finish. Crunchy. 88% merlot and 12% cabernet franc. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
The 2022 Blason de l'Evangile offers up aromas of dark berries, cherries and rose petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, suave, supple and seamless palate. This charming, fruit-driven Pomerol will drink well young. Rating: 89-91 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
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.
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.