Pomerol 2023 en primeur: tasting notes

There were some great wines to be found in Pomerol, db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay found, despite what proved to be a tricky vintage for the appellation. Here are his full tasting notes. 

Firstly, a note on the ratings.  The tasting notes provide an indicative rating for each wine alongside the published comment – all of which are necessarily subjective. The aim is primarily to describe the wine in the context of the vintage, the appellation and recent vintages of the same and similar wines, rather than to judge the wine per se, so I would urge you to look at the two together and, if anything, to privilege the comment over the rating.

The ratings, of course, reflect my subjective evaluations and relative preferences between wines. Your palate is likely differ from mine. I hope that my comments give you at least enough information to be able to recalibrate my ratings and, in so doing, to align them more closely to your own palate. To give an example: if the idea of the ‘new classicism’ leaves you cold, you may well wish to discount the (typically high) ratings I have given to wines described in such terms.

2023, like both of its predecessors is, of course, a far from homogeneous vintage – and, consequently, my ratings span a considerable range (from the very top of the scale downwards). I see little interest, either for the consumer or the producer, in publishing very low scores. Consequently, I have decided not to publish scores for classed growths (or equivalent wines) that I have rated below 90 (here the range 89-91) and for crus bourgeois (or equivalent wines) that I have rated below 89 (here the range 88-90). Where no rating is published, the wine would have scored below these thresholds. Where my written assessment of the wine might also have proved unflattering to the property, I have simply chosen to publish neither the commentary nor the rating.

Finally, élevage is likely to be very important in determining the quality in bottle of these wines. I am no soothsayer and cannot predict how that will turn out (another reason for the use of banded ratings). But all en primeur ratings should be treated with caution and taken with a certain pinch of salt.

See here for Colin’s assessment of Pomerol, Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac, St Estèphe and Saint Émilion.

Beauregard (Pomerol; 74% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc; 6% Cabernet Sauvignon; a final yield of 43 hl/ha; pH 3.8; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin and then with Vincent Priou at the property). A lovely rose petal, iris and violet florality. Soft, caressing, seductive and yet intimate. Fresh and pure, sinuous and sumptuous, with the violet florality so well integrated into the frame. So juicy and fresh. A Beauregard that I really love, but then I’m a sucker for violets. 93-95.

 

Bel-Air (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; bordering Bourgneuf and Trotanoy). Quite elegant and articulate aromatically. Very expressive of its Pomerol terroir, with that slightly early ferrous minerality, a nice hint of the cedar to come and pleasingly intense dark berry and stone fruitiness. Quite broad on the attack, but not especially dense or compact and shorter than some on the finish. Easy-drinking unpretentious Pomerol that tells you where it comes from. Likely to be excellent value. 89-91.

 

Blason de l’Evangile (Pomerol; 95% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; a genuine second wine, a cellar selection, like Cheval Blanc; tasted at the property). Plush, nutty – above all, walnutty. Black cherry. A hint of blueberry. Svelte, sweet-scented in its fruits profile and with pleasing mid-palate density. A lozenge-shape in the mouth, this is nicely compact at the core. Creamy, with a hint of Cabernet Franc uplift and leafy freshness in the frame set by the Merlot. Fresh and tense, yet good intensity and richness in the right place. A little note of liquorice on the well-sustained finish. 91-93.

 

Bonalgue (Pomerol; 95% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; from a vineyard of 9.17 hectares; a final yield of 38 hl/ha; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine and then at Clos du Clocher; picked over 6 weeks). Black berry and cherry fruits. Crushed brambles. Violet. Very pure and refined. Silky, lithe and sinuous with air-pulse quality tannins (as at Brane Cantenac). The result is a big, plump, glossy and intensely juicy mid palate. Not overdone at all and this glides – and glistens as it does so – over the palate. Sapid, juicy, elegant and refined with incredible softness. Very succulent. 92-94.

 

Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol; 80% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 40 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin). Less oaky and more delicate than it used to be, with more Pomerol typicity, though the extraction is perhaps still pushed just a touch, leaving the finish ever so slightly dry. Saline minerality interwoven with the baked and fresh plummy fruit. A little briny and almost a little abrasive on the finish. 90-92.

 

Bourgneuf (Pomerol; 90% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Franc; neighbouring Trotanoy and starting to taste like it does; tasted at Bélair-Monange in the J-P Moueix flight). Introduced later in the line-up here than it used to be (after La Grave à Pomerol), reflecting the real progress made in recent vintages. It is also notable that this is the place in the line-up where the quality really starts to rise (there is always one in the Moueix tasting that marks the ascent towards the summit). Sumptuous, with radiant and quite vertical dark berry and stone fruits (more of the former, less of the latter). I love too the graphite and pencil shaving note that is already evident. This is floral too – violets and dark chocolate scented with violet. Dark and intense, cool and yet soft and luscious. Succulent and seductive. Something of a coup de coeur. The best yet from here and the antithesis of the rusticity I used to associate with this wine. 93-95.

 

Certan de May (Pomerol; 65% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Franc; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; tasted at Bélair-Monange in the J-P Moueix flight). Coming after Latour à Pomerol, this is, as it always will be and should be, a little more austere, a little less svelte and seductive, but no less impressive. There’s more depth, there’s a different kind of minerality – a little more ferrous than rocky – and the extra Cabernet brings almost a left-bank quality to this that I have noted before. Interestingly, the oak is more prominent here, bringing sweet spicy notes. Black pepper too. But there’s a radiant natural sweetness too. Red and darker berry fruits, quite a tight frame, densely charged with fruit – and, again, that ferrous note, a little tinderbox too. This needs time, the considerable tannins are fine-grained but very prominent on the finish, almost shading a little to the dry side. Always tricky to assess en primeur – hence the equivocating addition of a ‘+’ (the benefit of the doubt and my sense that this will reveal more of itself in time)! 91-93+.

 

Le Clémence (Pomerol; a final yield of just 25 hl/ha; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Very dark berry fruits – lots of blueberries and brambles, a little cassis, wild herbal notes too and a touch of damson skin and flesh. Graphite. A little oak that is yet to be integrated. Deep, dark, quite rich and cool on the palate with very fine-grained tannins that pick up in granularity towards the finish. Not especially complex but well-managed and nicely sustained on the long finish. 90-92.

 

Clinet (Pomerol; 75% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Sauvignon; a final yield of 42 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; aging in oak barrels, 80% of which are new; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin and at Clinet with Ronan Laborde). Searing in its purity and vertically ascendant aromatically. At first, Asiatic plums, mulberry, bramble. With aeration a more familiar black cherry which, with further aeration, eventually comes to dominate. Quite saline in its minerality, with almost a hint of iodine too. Fresh, pure, precise. Impressive in its density and sense of layering – broad sheets of silk, finely pixilated in their layering (the tannins defining each sheet in effect). Tender yet tense and energetic. Very well-managed. Sapid on the finish. Refreshing. 94-96.

 

Clos Bel Air (Pomerol). The first time I’ve tasted this. You know immediately where you are with this wine and it’s nicely made. A Pomerol nuttiness, that ferrous minerality which characterises certain parts of the appellation and a nicely ripe, quite plump, Merlot-dominated fruit profile. I love the walnut oil note, the graphite and the hint of cedar to come. The frame is narrow which accentuates the intensity of the fruit. Linear, precise. A good result. 89-91.

 

Clos de Clocher (Pomerol; 70% Merlot – with a little in the process of being replanted reducing the proportion in the blend this year; 30% Cabernet Franc; this is the 100^th vintage; a final yield of 40 hl/ha; 13.9% alcohol; from 3 blocs of parcels, totalling just 3.5 hectares, the largest planted in 1924 on the western part of the plateau on blue clay, the second next to Trotanoy on gravel over blue clay and the third below the property itself next to Beauregard; tasted at Clos du Clocher with Jean-Baptiste Bourotte and Mathieu Bonté; picked over 5 weeks). A lovely signature of the property, a gloriously effusive Pomerol nose, with lots of generosity and amplitude as is its style. Violet, rose petals, saffron, walnut and almond, frangipane, a little toasted brioche. Blood orange. Gloriously spherical, plump and round, gracious and full in the mouth. A wonderfully sapid and plump mouthful. Very fine on the finish. Compact and dense but not overly so, giving space to the Cabernet Franc to express itself. Excitingly joyous and vivid. Chewy on the finish. More like La Conseillante than Eglise-Clinet in this vintage. 94-96+.

 

Clos de la Vieille Eglise (Pomerol; 70% Merlot; 30% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 48 hl/ha; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Richer and darker fruited than its stablemate, Porte Chic, but with exactly the same admirable sense of definition, clarity and delineation. More blueberries and mulberries here, a little loganberry too. Silky and dynamic, sinuous and exciting in its precision and luminosity. Truly excellent and with the acidity so well integrated. Long, sleek and stylish. 93-95.

 

Clos Vieux Taillefer (Pomerol; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Plump and plush, very black cherry and cherry tone in its fruit profile with a little suggestion of black forest gateau laced with kirsch. Quite substantial yet over quite a narrow frame accentuating the sense of concentration, but also the granular feel of the tannins. They build towards the finish which becomes just a little abrasive. 88-90.

 

La Commanderie (Pomerol; 85% Merlot; 15% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 40 hl/ha; a vineyard of 5.8 hectares on a sand and gravel terroir next to Nénin; Pascal Chatonnet is the consultant; pH 3.7; 14.6% alcohol; tasted twice at Haut-Chaigneau with Pascal Chatonnet and then at La Dauphine). Incense, pot pourri, a little delicate hint of violet, some vanilla and oak smoke too (the oak for the moment not fully integrated into the aromatics). Black cherry, kirsch, black chocolate and a little blueberry and bramble. A nice cedar element develops with aeration. Plush, plump, full and yet quite lithe and glistening across the palate. Sapid and juicy with lots of liquorice on the finish. Quite substantial but a success in the context of the vintage. Needs time. 91-93.

 

La Connivence (Pomerol; 75% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Franc; 1.4 hectares next to Belle Brise on a small gravel slope; a garden vineyard; 2000 bottles of total production including second wine; 14.4% alcohol; tasted at La Gaffelière with Thomas Soubes). Gracious. Charming. Seductive. Authentic top quality plateau Pomerol. Blueberry. Blackberry. Mulberry. Black cherry supports the dark plump berry fruits and also comes through with aeration, building and bringing depth to the mid-palate. Wild thyme. Wondrously layered and velvety in texture. A narrow frame helping to establish and reinforce the fruit intensity. Lovely graphite notes, too, above all as this relaxes in the glass. Chewy tannins on the finish. Elegant and exquisite but with plenty of power and concentration too. Rather magical, as it has a habit of being. 95-97.

 

La Conseillante (Pomerol; 88% Merlot; 12% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 43 hl/ha with the only losses coming from desiccation of the fruit in September; pH 3.68; 14% alcohol; tasted at La Conseillante with Marielle Cazaux; it’s an incredible statistic that 1150 hours were used here to bring in the fruit from 11 hectares; a long maceration, explains Marielle, one of the longest). So beautifully redolent and expressive of La Conseillante – it could only be from here. This is a vintage in which the top Pomerols are profoundly terroir-accented, but none is more terroir-accented than La Conseillante. Walnuts. Blueberries. Violets. Irises. Cornflower. Black cherry. A little rose petal. Tasted after an intense rain shower, this is perhaps a little more closed than it would otherwise be, but that seems only to underline the utterly gracious aromatics. In the mouth, this is fleshy – rare in the vintage – and incredibly so. And with a lovely natural freshness. Fabulous intensity, great amplitude and so plush and full and rich on the palate. Many wines in this vintage have little up-flows, eddies and up-currants of delicate freshness; this has big Atlantic breakers of pulsating freshness. Sumptuous and succulent, ultra fresh and pure on the finish. This is lush, plush, sexy Pomerol with a great plume at the finish. The heart and soul of the plateau. 97-99.

 

La Croix de Gay (Pomerol; a final yield of 42 hl/ha; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin). Dusty baked path, that ferrous minerality and assorted fresh and more baked plum fruit notes with a pleasing wild herbal element too. On the palate, this is fresh and lithe and texturally much less rustic than it once was. That works well. Honest, direct, authentically expressive of its terroir if a little monotone. 91-93.

 

La Croix du Casse (Pomerol; 96% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc). Nice wild heathery notes. Quite spicy, but not in a way that dominates. A prominent trace of the ferrous minerality that I associate with this terroir. Plump, fresh and quite vertical, a tight narrow frame accentuating the sense of depth. Nice fluidity and a crystalline mid-palate. Well-made though a little dominated by the ferrous note. 90-92.

 

La Croix St-Georges (Pomerol; 95% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 44 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at Belgrave). A little oxidative, very spicy, quite saline in its minerality and quite ferrous too. That, for me, rather swamps the fresh fruits and we have a sense more of slightly baked fruits aromatically. Sapid, juicy and rather better on the palate, where I find it dense and compact, nicely layered and succulent, if a little foursquare. The tannins are juicy at first, but are just very slightly shading towards dryness on the finish. I’d like to re-taste this. 90-92.

 

Domaine de L’Eglise (Pomerol; 98% Merlot; 2% Cabernet Franc). A darker berry fruit, a little baked plum and damson too, more and more in fact with aeration. Tasted after La Croix du Casse this has a more pronounced acidity and, from the clay-gravel soil, a more ferrous note to its minerality. Gentle wild herbal elements too. A little graphite. Nice green peppercorns. Richer, fuller, less austere. A nice luminous mid-palate accentuated by the more ample frame. Nicely formed and with good concentration and density. The acidity rises a little on the finish. But there’s compensation in the form of a lovely hint of blackcurrant and more and more black cherry as this opens. Maybe a little strict for now, but with time (or further aeration) this will become more seductive. Good potential. 91-93+.

 

L’Eglise-Clinet (Pomerol; 90% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Franc; 82% new oak; 14.6% alcohol; tasted at the property with Noemie Durantou). A little closed at first when tasted under leaden and rainy skies. Utterly divine aromatically, nonetheless, the Cabernet Franc really lifting this as blueberry and subtle floral notes soar vertically from the glass, breaking the surface tension. Cedar. Rose petals. Rose water. Peonies. Iris. Violet. Incense. Patchouli. A lovely natural sweetness. Lots of cherry and damson, blueberry and bramble; with aeration the fruit complexity grows with loganberry and mulberry too. Wild thyme. Ample and much broader-shouldered than La Petite Eglise. Great depth and concentration, an immense structure but such a soft and gentle core, once again. Szechuan peppercorns, freshly crushed. Succulent and juicy, sapid and so focussed and precise on the long and gently tapering finish. Exquisite. Brilliant and singular. A little more intimate and introvert than the other top plateau Pomerols, darker fruited and so gracious. A true vin de garde. Yet incredibly accessible and very beautiful already. A triumph. 97-99.

 

L’Enclos (Pomerol; 75% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc; 5% Malbec; from a vineyard of 9 hectares on the western edge of the plateau, next to Guillot Clauzel, and with an average age of 40 years; organic and in transition to biodynamic viticulture). The sister property of the rising star that is Fonplégade in Saint Émilion. Once again, I really like this. Sage. Wild herbs. Earthy notes, a little sous bois. And, with aeration, a lovely hint of violet. There’s a little liquorice too, with the salinity it brings, and a cornucopia of crunchy, popping wild berries. Fresh and clean on the lingering finish. 91-93+.

 

L’Enclos Tourmaline (Pomerol; 97% Merlot; 3% Cabernet Franc; just 1.2 hectares on blue clay and gravel; 100% new oak; a generous yield, as at all of the Vignobles K estates with essentially no mildew; tasted at Bellefont Belcier). Saline, once again, with almost a note of salted, roasted macadamia nut, gentle sweet spices, cinnamon and pain d’épices, black cherry and blueberry. A little subtle iris. Opens slowly and would benefit from a decanter. Very ample, pushing out the cheeks with lots of juicy, sapid fruit juice. Good density and compactness, but highly crystalline too. Floaty. A little introvert for now and the élévage will be important, but it is all here. Should be great. A veritable vin de garde. Vibrantly sapid. 93-95+.

L’Evangile (Pomerol; 79% Merlot; 21% Cabernet Franc; less than 1% Cabernet Sauvignon; pH 3.75; 50% new oak; 13.5% alcohol). Quite plump with a lot of Cabernet Franc for the property. Intimate and a little closed initially but very redolent of L’Evangile nonetheless. Voluptuous and yet reserved, much less immediately opulent than it has tended to be, more introvert and confidential. Plump black cherries and their texture in the mouth. Wild bilberries, mulberries too and maybe a little hint of damson. Thyme. Graphite. Superb texturally with a most gracious mouthfeel. Plush and sleek, with great mid-palate density. Very refined. Not boisterous. I love the Cabernet Franc notes, with a little injection and release of cassis through the stone fruit frame set by the Merlot in the mid-palate. It brings a plume of freshness just when it is needed. There is more of a link to Lafite than ever before I find (with Saskia de Rothschile leading the blending of both). 95-97+.

 

Fayat (Pomerol; 95% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 52 hl/ha; pH 3.58; 13.6% alcohol; tasted at La Dominique). Sapid, fresh and juicy, this is a great success in the context of the vintage. There’s a little lily of the valley and lilac florality alongside the plum and bramble fruit, a trace of graphite too and maybe a suggestion of grated cinnamon stick. On the palate, this is quite tight to the spine, giving it more intensity than it would otherwise have; the extraction was clearly moderated and well-managed as the tannins are very polite and fine-grained. Lots of evident skill in the vinification producing a wine of great freshness but no sense of elevated acidity. Harmonious. 91-93.

 

Feytit Clinet (Pomerol; 88% Merlot; 12% Cabernet Franc; from 6.3 hectares of pure gravel and gravel on clay a little down the hill from Clinet; a final yield of 41 hl/ha; the first vintage to be made by Jérémy Chasseuil and his son, Adrien, together – we can be very confident about the inter-generational succession here). Intensely dark-fruited with just a little oak smoke and oodles of freshly milled black pepper, a little Szechuan peppercorn and mint too. Cool, with a sumptuous plunge-pool mid palate, with black cherry, blueberry and graphite seemingly generously interlayered. A nice grip from the tannins releases a wave of sapidity in its wake and helps build a lovely fantail finish. Really poised, plush and excellent. The best Feytit I’ve tasted since perhaps the 2016. A coup de coeur. 93-95.

 

La Fleur-Pétrus (Pomerol; 96.5% Merlot; 3% Cabernet Franc; 0.5% Petit Verdot; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). Captivating. It’s closed at first, hinting only a little at what it wishes to reveal. Perfectly shaped and formed, with a glacial, cool, dark, rich and sumptuous texture, the most gracious tannins and a beautiful shape as it glides over the palate on beads of the finest and most spherical of tannins. Fresher than Trotanoy, the fruit a shade lighter in hue – loganberry and raspberry, less cherry, less blueberry, though a little mulberry. I love the lavender, rosemary and violet notes that seem rolled into the dark berry fruit, and also that little waft of Cabernet leafiness, reinforced I think by a peppery note from the Petit Verdot. There’s a lot more to come here and this is, overall, quite austere for La Fleur-Pétrus, but it’s going to be excellent in time. Perhaps the most complex of the Moueix Pomerols this year. 95-97+.

 

Le Gay (Pomerol; 95% Merlot; 5% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 42 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin and then at Le Gay with Henri Parent). Less robust and more floral than it often is, with saffron and violets, irises and peonies intermingling with the dark and lighter berry fruits; cherries with aeration and walnut oil too. Tense and charged, with that signature slightly ferrous minerality coming through in the mid-palate. A less broad frame than the 2022 and more delicate and subtle on the entry as a consequence, with gracious quite fluid tannins. But in true Le Gay style, the mid-palate itself is dense and packed with intense fruits, but still sinuous and well-defined. Juicy and fresh on the finish where we return to the floral notes. Lovely. A vin de garde, as it should be. A very authentic expression of the vintage. 94-96.

 

Gazin (Pomerol; 89% Merlot; 7% Cabernet Sauvignon; 4% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 40 hl/ha; 13.9% alcohol; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin). Salty. Roasted peanuts. Wood smoke and a hint of sweet spice. Plum skin, damson and assorted red berry fruits, loganberry perhaps above all. A hint of cedar. Sapid and juicy, quite lithe and fluid across the palate, though the tannins, which are initially soft, pick up in granularity towards the finish. Engaging and quite dynamic, I’m not sure I’d pick this as Gazin. It’s more lithe and fluid than usual; I think I detect a subtle change in style as the management of the property passes on a generation. Impressively juicy. 92-94+.

 

Hosanna (Pomerol; 74% Merlot; 26% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 48 hl/ha; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). It’s pleasing to see so much Cabernet Franc in this. Closed at first, then slowly opening having drawn you in – saline notes, liquorice root, ultra-dark cherry fruits, grape skins, cedar and graphite and just a hint of violet; a slightly lactic note too. Pure, precise, extremely and intensely layered and with a succulent, lush, silky texture in the mouth. Quite serious for Hosanna but soft with it – almost quite regal – silk and ermine. Very clean, precise and focussed on the finish, this will be excellent. It’s less seductive than it used to be and cool and calm in this vintage. Needs patience, but expect that patience to be rewarded. 93-95.

 

L’Innocence de Séraphine (Pomerol; 75% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Franc; 14% alcohol). Aromatically explosive, even tasted on a rather cold and overcast day in Bordeaux at the start of the en primeur period. Plump black cherries, wild blueberries and a little blackcurrant, a twist or two of the peppermill (and then a twist or two more) and graphite. On the palate this is big and bold for a second wine, in a sort of Jonathan Maltus kind of a style. The tannins are a little robust on the finish but this is well made and just needs a bit of time in the cellar. 88-90.

 

La Grave à Pomerol (Pomerol; 89% Merlot; 11% Cabernet Franc; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). Lovely graphite-encrusted dark stone fruit – Griotte cherries and maybe a little blueberry. Enticing. Cool. This has a lovely glacial texture on the entry and that leads one to expect something light with less density, but this fills out very impressively – with plenty of depth and concentration for the vintage. Again, though, I find it a little monotone at this early stage. Fresh and sapid, dynamic and precise on the finish, which I find the juiciest of the Moueix Pomerols so far. Promising. 91-93+.

 

Guillot-Clauzel (Pomerol; 83% Merlot; 17% Cabernet Franc; from great and quite singular terroir just next to Le Pin; tasted in the unmarked garage in which it’s made by Guillaume Thienpont by the man himself). The Cabernet really shines in a glistening, pure, delicate and delightful frame set by the Merlot, seeming almost to tame it in the process. This is soft and voluptuous to the core, yet also balanced and tense, fresh and croquant. The grain of the tannin defines very well the berries here, giving us a sense of berry-by-berry definition. Floral-encrusted fruit and a rather different tannic expression to either Vieux Château Certan or Le Pin, tasted before. It’s earlier picked due to the different terroir and somehow cooler at the core. Possibly the strongest vintage yet from here. The Cabernet Franc really sings and seems held within the warm embrace of the Merlot. A hug of a wine. Sapid and succulent on the juicy finish. A very classical and classy Pomerol. 95-97.

 

Lafleur (Pomerol; 46% Merlot; 54% Bouchet; drawn from its profound gravel terroir; tasted with Omri Ram at the property). Both varietals achieved equal quality. Violet, the parfumier’s essence of lavender. Iris. Espresso coffee bean. A little spice and a crack and a twist of white pepper. Blueberries and fruits of the forest with aeration, a lovely hint of redcurrant and blackcurrant freshness in the mid palate. Walnut oil. Heather. Iodine and oyster shell. An intimate wine as it tends to be in its infancy. Perfection texturally. So cool, so layered and pixilated, so composed. It’s actually difficult at first to find the tannins as they are so finely-grained. Spherical in form and frame. And it grows in amplitude over the palate, eventually pushing out the cheeks and giving the stage to the Bouchet to sing and to dance. So sapid and succulent. Such lift on the finish. Incredible. 98-100.

 

Lafleur Gazin (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). A little darker in its fruit profile than Lagrange, with cassis and briary fruits most in evident. The same purity and levity. A lovely touch of cedar which raises this. Richer, tighter to the spine and with greater density, this is a more traditional Pomerol in this vintage. A touch of ferrous minerality too. Nice composition, but again it lacks a bit of complexity. Chewy tannins that gain in granularity on the finish. 90-92.

 

Lagrange (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). Plush, quite plump, a pleasing generosity and natural sweetness. Broad-shouldered and open-textured but that reveals the slightly stretched fruit. Nicely done, but certainly lacking a little in density and concentration. Lithe and sprightly, quite luminous, but the fruit is stretched over quite a broad frame. A little monotone – but I like the tone. Simple but pure. 89-91.

 

Latour à Pomerol (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; tasted as part of the Moueix flight at Bélair-Monange). Always a bit of a favourite and it doesn’t disappoint even in a vintage when one perhaps worries a little for the monocépage Merlots. Black cherries, Griottes, cedar, graphite. Dark, fresh, cool, plump and quite plush too. More cedar notes and a little rose petal too with aeration – a hint of violet as well. Full, cylindrical in the mouth and impressively compact, carving a beautiful shape across the palate. The tannins are quite considerable but always gracious and this will need time. It’s quite chunky, the minerality building with the tannins towards a long finish. A bit of a fantail too. Impressive. 92-94+.

 

Lécuyer (Pomerol; 75% Merlot; 15% Cabernet Franc; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; from 3.4 hectares over 4 parcels, three contiguous with Clinet and a further near Beauregard, purchased by Ronan Laborde in 2021; a final yield of 44 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at Clinet). Just the second vintage under the Clinet regime. Really special in the context of the vintage. Black cherries, blac currant, very pure and very much in the style of Clinet, a little sandalwood and a hint of peony, candied rose petals. Gloriously soft and gentle, considerable density, very impressive indeed. There’s a lot of substance here and a lot of purity too. Long and layered. 93-95.

 

Maillet (Pomerol; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Quite floral – rose petals and petunias, rather spring like and with red berry fruits alongside the darker more autumnal elements. Quite herbal, a touch of wild thyme, and a nice leafiness welling up from below to bring definition and interest to the mid-palate. Sapid on the finish and less oaky than it used to be. A success. 91-93.

 

Mazeyres (Pomerol; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Ferrous aromatically, with plum, baked plum and sweet spices too, a little damson as well. Quite a tight and richly-filled mid palate but the tannins are, from the attack, quite noticeable and if not exactly coarse, they seem to draw one’s attention from, distract and disrupt the flow of the wine over the palate. Needs time, but a little stern and stolid for now. 89-91.

 

Le Moulin (Pomerol; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Heather and wild herbs and a pleasing natural sweetness to the dark berry and stone fruit make this distinctive aromatically. Ample and almost opulent for the vintage on the attack and quite sinuous in and through the mid-palate with very refined tannins imparting a silky quality to the mouthfeel. It’s not terribly dense ore concentrated, but it is lithe and fluid instead and I respect and admire that choice. Juicy on the finish. 90-92.

 

Moulinet (Pomerol). Aromatically expressive, with a plum, red cherry and loganberry fruit, a little sweet spicing (but just a touch) and a nice sense of lift and clarity. A pleasing natural sweetness to this on the attack, then a combination of tannic and acidic grip pinches the wine and stretches it out over the spine. Tight, a little strict perhaps, but with good substance and well-sustained on the finish. A distinctly saline minerality. 89-91.

 

Monregard La Croix (Pomerol; 1 parcel of Merlot on 1 hectare on a sandy terroir; a final yield of 39 hl/ha; pH 3.56; 13.5% alcohol; at the bottom of the slope down from Clos du Clocher next to parcels for Blason de L’Evangile; 2023 was the third year in conversion to organic viticulture; tasted at Clos du Clocher). Nice plump damson and plum fruit, a little red cherry too. Ample and quite broad-shouldered. Nutmeg. Sage. Bay leaf. Succulent, soft and gentle. A nice luminous mid-palate, generous and substantial yet juicy and sapid. The tannins on the finish just shading a little towards dryness. Simple and round. Nicely managed through the difficulties of the vintage on a terroir like this. Menthol lift on the finish. 91-93.

 

Montviel (Pomerol; 80% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 35 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at Le Gay with Henri Parent). Pretty. A light rose petal note and a slight hint of violet, building with a little gentle coaxing of the glass. White pepper. Walnut shell. A nice pleasing sweetness to the fruit on the attack, but quite a lot of acidity that builds through the mid-palate. Very linear. Quite extracted but with no dryness. Needs time and this has significant aging potential. Nice and spicy and quite distinctive in its minerality. 90-92.

 

Nénin (Pomerol; 67% Merlot; 30% Cabernet Franc; 3% Cabernet Sauvignon; a final yield of 46 hl/ha; 7% press wine; IPT 65.6; pH 3.68; 13.39% alcohol; tasted at the property). Spicy. Saline. A touch of Pomerol ferrous minerality. Cedar and graphite around the cherry and damson fruit. A nice tight frame. Not too ample and that gives this good depth. Concentrated in the mid-palate. Rich and plump. Some tannin to resolve, but a good Pomerol that will endure and evolve very well. Nicely formed and a bit in the Las Cases style, with excellent aging potential. Precise and focussed on the finish. 92-94+.

 

La Patache (Pomerol; 90% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Franc; 2.62 hectares; a generous yield, as at all of the VIgnobles K estates with essentially no mildew; tasted at Bellefont Belcier). Plump, plush and soft and, like Enclos de Viaud, a veritable mouthful bursting the cheeks with fresh and sapid fruit – very characteristic of the vintage. A lovely gentle and subtle florality. Rose petals, sesame seed, blue and darker berry fruits, sandalwood. Impressive density and concentration. Pure and precise, ultra-fine grained tannins. Very well made. Tender and juicy. A step up in finesse. 90-92+.

 

Les Pensées de Lafleur (Pomerol; 70% Merlot; 30% Bouchet; from just 0.6 hectares facing the château buildings; tasted with Omri Ram at the property). Violet, lily, iris, lavender and rosemary, cedar and graphite, blueberry and black cherry. A hint of the tabac, but just a little. Bay leaf. Thyme. Heather. Fabulously coloured and pixilated. The Bouchet really sings, as this opens, bringing additional colour and pixilation to a frame set by the plump, plush Merlot. Dynamic and energetic with radiating and rippling pulses of succulent and vibrant berry juice. The expansive frame here makes this even more luminous and crystalline in the mid-palate, with eddies and ripples of freshness rising up from the depths of the mirror pool. So expressive of where it comes from. And so succulent and sapid on the finish. 95-97.

 

La Petite Eglise (Pomerol; 90% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Franc; 82% new oak; 14.4% alcohol; tasted with Noemie Durantou at Eglise-Clinet). Eucalyptus, mint, cedar and crushed black berries and a little damson. Wild heather flowers, gorse and violets. Very dark-fruited, very intimate, very cool and enticing and utterly gorgeous aromatically. There’s a beautiful kind of aromatic tension between the Merlot notes (cherries) and the freshness of the Cabernet berry fruits. Graciously soft texturally, reinforcing the cool and focussed sense of precision. Not too ample, but with almost a black hole concentration at the core. Glassy, limpid, refined and supremely elegant. Sapid and succulent, highly juicy and quite superb. 93-95+.

 

Le Petit de Petit Village (Pomerol; 88% Merlot; 12% Cabernet Franc). Classic. Graphite. Violet and roses, fleshly plucked petals in all their pixilated pictorial detail. A touch of black cherry. A lovely sous bois note too. Silky in the mouth. Glossy. Voluptuous. Svelte on the attack and sleek and plush through the mid-palate where the acidity lifts this and stretches it vertically. Crystalline. Limpid. Gracious. Plunge-pool. 91-93.

 

Petit Village (Pomerol; 65% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Franc; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; pH 3.8; a final yield of 36 hl/ha, higher than in recent years, and largely due to the old age of many of the vines and recent replanting; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the property just before the opening of the new chai). More mineral-charged than le Petit. More vertically expressive too. More dynamic and more highly charged, but a little more closed at least initially. Black cherry, blueberry and liquorice, a lovely leafy Cabernet Franc note. Violets and peonies. Rich but not as massive as the 2022 or 2020. This has excellent delineation. It is broad and ample with silky sheets of cool, dark fruit multi-layered one on top of the other, with the ultra-fine grained tannins indicating the layering rather more than the extremities. Fluid and lithe and shimmering. Very long, very fine. Very well composed and very crystalline in its new style. Ultra-new classical. With lovely low cherry notes and blueberries rising above the orchestra. 94-96+.

Petrus (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; tasted at Petrus with Olivier Berrouet in what now feels like an annual pilgrimage). A gorgeous sense of relaxed composure wafts from the glass. Pitch perfect pixilated pure ripe plump and plush berries – mulberry, bramble and loganberry, sloes, with aeration maybe a little plum skin. Graphite, not yet cedar and a little sous bois. Bay leaf. Saffron. And it all feels so very natural. Extremely fresh and croquant. Infinitesimally pixilated and incredibly detailed. Yet restrained and calm. Majestic, monumental and magisterial, yet with incredible grace and levity. Ample from the attack. And yet it builds further in the glass. Profound and so infinitesimally layered too – that vertically descending cascade towards the cool dark ocean depths. Crystalline, limpid, with delightful small currents and ripples not so much rising up from below as circulating, like small whirlpools but changing as the wines evolves over the palate to retain focus and interest. Intensely sapid on the finish after the succulence of the mid-palate. Glacial and glassy but more vibrant and vivid than that implies. Brilliant. As limpid, lithe and sapid a Petrus as there has ever been. A triumph. 97-99.

 

Le Pin (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; a final yield of 40 hl/ha; pH 3.75; 14% alcohol; tasted with Jacques Thienpont and Diana Berrouet Garcia at Le Pin). Seamless. Poised. Authoritative. Intense. Floral, with peony, wisteria, hyacinth and saffron. Dark berry fruited and enrobed in graphite. And, as it opens so beautifully in the glass, there is more and more cherry stone fruit. Not a massive frame and all the more perfectly spherical for that. Very purple-blue-black in its fruit profile. Cool – a mirror pool of freshness, with the glassy, glacial texture that implies. The finest texture on the attack of the vintage. Just magical. Plunge pool. It’s like diving into a crystal clear lake at night. Wondrous purity. Really special and utterly sublime with a harmony that is unsurpassed in the vintage. Introvert and introspective, perhaps, but all the more enticing and enthralling for that. 98-100.

 

Porte Chic (Pomerol; 70% Merlot; 25% Cabernet Franc; 5% Cabernet Sauvignon; a final yield of 45 hl/ha; tasted at La Dominique). A wine that in recent vintages has started to become a friend. Fresh, lifted, bright and extremely crunchy in its dark berry fruits, with a little raspberry too. Just the right kind of freshness. A hint of incense and wild thyme. Hyacinth. Lithe and silky, very finely textured, this is sapid, crisp, clean and juicy. Highly recommended. Top tier Pomerol for a very reasonable price. 92-94+.

 

Rouget (Pomerol; 80% Merlot; 20% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 30 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at the UGCB press tasting at the Cité du Vin). Soft and enveloping, enticing and engaging, with a generous black cherry fruit. A little cedar too and a hint of peony. Substantial on the palate with a well-defined and quite compact central core charged with cherry juice. This swirls around and creates lovely eddies of freshness. Not terribly complex, but rather lovely nonetheless. Intensely juicy. 92-94.

 

De Sales (Pomerol; 85% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; 5% Cabernet Franc; just 18% new oak). In a vintage in which the Pomerol wines are very floral and in which the Margaux wines’ inherent florality is almost a little Pomerolly in character this is an almost Margellais Pomerol, as it so often is (it’s the Cabernet Sauvignon). Delicate and fresh, a lovely almost resinous Cabernet Franc note welling up aromatically as if to break the surface tension in the glass and also on the palate – in the mid-palate to be precise. It’s like a fire hydrant of sapidity and freshness imparting a cool menthol note too. Great progress has been made here in recent vintages. Impressively dense and compact for de Sales but losing none of its cooler vineyard typicity. Very Cabernet-style. Some might find this overly fresh, I love it. 92-94.

 

Séraphine (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; 14.5% alcohol). Plump and plush on the nose, with oodles of perfectly ripe black cherries, a little hint of the cedar to come and a twist or two of the lead pencil rotating in its sharpener. Aeration reveals the violet florality. Broad, soft and gentle with a lovely natural sweetness that is quite rare in the vintage and that contrasts, say, with the Clos Cantenac tasted just before. The acidity is still quite elevated and this is not as rich or deep as in a number of recent vintages, but it’s a balanced and successful wine in the context of the vintage. 92-94+.

 

Taillefer (Pomerol; tasted at the Grand Cercle tasting at La Dauphine). Quite saline with baked plums and wilted cherries, that Pomerol ferrous minerality hinted at in the name of the property too and a little rosemary and lavender. There’s a delicate florality to this too that makes this nicely expressive of its terroir. There is also more refinement in the tannins too than there used to be. Nicely managed. 89-91.

 

Trotanoy (Pomerol; 100% Merlot; the last of the Pomerol flight at the Moueix tasting, this year at Bélair-Monange). Reticent at first. Shy almost. One senses the texture first. Liquid cashmere. Soft, enveloping, gracious, voluptuous. Quite pure and crystalline. Violet, rose petals, patchouli – though just a hint – black cherry skins and mulberries, wild blueberries too. Cool and darker in essence than La Fleur-Pétrus. Less vivid perhaps but maybe more ethereal. Almost a little gothic in its darkness. Graphite. A stony minerality – whetstone, crushed rocks. In the mouth, this is, like Hosanna, quite saline. Black liquorice. Dark berry fruits and cherry stones. Very substantial, dense and compact but actually over a wider and more cylindrical frame than any of the other Moueix wines. Impressive and very much a vin de garde at this nascent stage. This is a top Trotanoy, but it will not be a crowd-pleaser in its youth. But all the ingredients are there. 95-97+.

 

Vieux Chateau Certan (Pomerol; 82% Merlot; 18% Cabernet Franc; pH 3.74; a final yield of 43 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; tasted at the property with four generations of the Thienpont family present – it was a privilege to share the moment). Gloriously floral, with a load of freshly plucked violets, a little wisteria too (as if taken from the château buildings). Graphite. Incredibly dark fruited. Texturally the closest in quality and pixilation to Le Pin. Walnut shell and walnut oil. Introspective. Cool. Limpid. Aerial texturally. With aeration the cedar starts to build making this even more beautiful. This glides and floats, filling the mouth as if from the top down. It’s kaleidoscopic. The frame is a little broader than Le Pin, accentuating the rippling edges of the fine layers of silk that seem to form the core of the wine. A cool, subtle and sublimely beautiful expression of the vintage. Exquisite. So much more ethereal that the 2022 and at least as good. Classical, but a modern classicism. Very juicy and it is here that the salinity gathers too forming a wonderful parting fantail on the finish. 97-99.

 

La Violette (Pomerol; from just 1.68 hectares on fine gravel and from just 5,500 plants; 100% Merlot; a final yield of 30 hl/ha; the berries are hand de-stemmed and placed in barrels for vinification; 14% alcohol; tasted at Le Gay with Henri Parent). This lives up to both its reputation and its name in this vintage. Violet, parfumier’s essence of violet, confit violet, confit roses and pot pourri and a little fresh mint. A hint of vanilla from the oak, but this is almost all incorporated already. Graphite, blackberries and a little black cherry. Rose petal and rose water too. So soft and refined with a lovely deceptively lithe and light open-texture. But there is weight and density too, it’s just a little disguised. Pixilated, precise, nicely focussed and very fluid and sinuous. Long and tapering with a more and more pronounced note of black pepper that lingers on the finish. Excellent. 94-96+.

 

Vray Croix de Gay (Pomerol; 98% Merlot; 2% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 34 hl/ha; 14.5% alcohol; 10-12k bottles produced; a new label for the vintage). Plump, plush and glossy with a touch of the oak that’s still in the process of incorporation. Crystalline. Very spicy and very saline too, giving this quite a distinct personality. Gracious tannins but with a pronounced and elevated acidity on the finish that contrasts the luminous and dense mid-palate. Pure liquorice on the finish. 91-93.