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Pomerol 2018 reappraised: the scores

18 January 2023 By Colin Hay

In his series of appellation-by-appellation profiles, Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay revisits and re-tastes the 2018 vintage in Pomerol from bottle, finding a challenging, heterogeneous yet ultimately excellent vintage. Here are the scores.

In db’s reappraisal of the Pomerol 2018 vintage, it is easy to forget that 2018 is was, in a way, a ‘miracle’ vintage. Halfway through the growing season, and in every appellation in the region, there were anxieties that not a single bottle of wine would be produced. However, through a combination of good luck (the longest, driest, hottest and sunniest summer on record) and more importantly, better wine-making (and also winemaking that is better adapted to global warming), there is freshness to be found in the best wines of the 2018 vintage.

The tasting process itself took place over over a 4-month period between September and December (due to the sheer complexity of assembling samples), with samples almost exclusively supplied by the châteaux themselves. Other than a handful of properties that I visited (which are identified in the tasting notes below), all samples were tasted in Paris. I have had no qualms about trying to taste these wines at their best. So, where I thought it might help reveal them at their best, I have not been reluctant to decant samples. I have also used a range of glassware from Grassl, Reidel, Zalto and Sydonios.

All wines (other than those tasted at the châteaux themselves) were tasted at least three times over a period of 48 hours. I am extremely grateful to all those who sent samples and to all those who helped me in the Herculean task of tracking down samples. Only two samples were rejected and, in both case, kindly replaced by the château.

For our full analysis see here, and for the full tasting notes, click here.

Wine	Rating
Lafleur	100
Petrus	100
Trotanoy	99+
Le Pin	99
Vieux Chateau Certan	99
L’Eglise-Clinet	98
La Fleur-Pétrus	98
La Violette	98
Clinet	97
Enclos Tourmaline	97
Evangile	97
La Conseillante	96+
Hosanna	96
Latour à Pomerol	96
Guillot Clauzel	95+
La Connivence	95
Les Pensées de Lafleur	95
Petit Village	95
Belle-Brise	94+
Clos du Clocher	94
Feytit Clinet	94
La Fleur de Gay	94
Le Gay	94
Séraphine	94
Nénin	93+
Clos de la Vieille Eglise	93
Clos L’Eglise	93
Gazin	93
La Gravette de Certan	93
La Petite Eglise	93
Le Chemin	93
Romana	93
Rouget	93
Vray Croix de Gay	93
Certan de May	92+
Espérance de Trotanoy	92+
La Croix St Georges	92+
Lafleur Gazin	92+
Porte Chic	92+
Vieux Maillet	92+
Beauregard	92
Blason de l’Evangile	92
Bonalgue	92
Bourgneuf	92
Clos du Beau-Père	92
Gombaude Guillot	92
L’Eclat de Valois	92
L’Innocene de Séraphine	92
La Cabanne	92
La Commanderie	92
La Grave à Pomerol	92
Montviel	92
De Sales	91+
Sacré Couer	91+
St Pierre	91+
Clos 56	91
Clos Rene	91
Domaine de l’Eglise	91
La Patache	91
Le Bon Pasteur	91
Mazeyres	91
Plince	91
Lagrange à Pomerol	90+
Croix du Casse	90
De Valois	90
Fayat	90
L’Enclos	90
La Croix de Gay	90
La Croix du Casse	90
Bellegrave	89+
Due do Conseillante	89
La Création	89
La Croix	89
Le Caillou	89
Clos Vieux Taillefer	88
Fugue de Nénin	88
Haut Maillet	88
La Clémence	88
La Croix Taillefer	88
La Pointe	88
Vieux Plateau Certan	88
Le Moulinet	87
Moulinet	87
La Renaissance	86
Plincette	85