2019 Château Séraphine, Pomerol, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Just 2,800 bottles were produced.
The 2019 Séraphine, the recent addition to the Pomerol landscape courtesy of proprietor Martin Krajewski, was very impressive when I tasted the barrel sample. Now in bottle, it delivers on that promise. It has a gorgeous, pure, lilting bouquet of blackberry, raspberry and light black truffle scents that unfold in the glass. I appreciate the definition, detail, and prudent use of new oak (40%). The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, a keen thread of acidity, a touch more backbone than a few months ago, and an insistent grip on the finish. Traces of black pepper furnish the aftertaste. As I said before, one to watch.
Drink 2026 - 2048
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (February 2022)
This wine is made from 100% Merlot and is being aged in French oak barrels, 40% new, for 12-14 months. The alcohol came in at 14%. Deep garnet-purple in colour, the 2019 Séraphine opens with the most beautiful perfume of plum preserves, violets, clove oil and cinnamon stick over a core of blueberry compote, Morello cherries and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black and blue fruit preserves with a fantastic line of freshness and beautifully ripe, plush tannins, finishing with loads of mineral and spicy sparks.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown WM, Wine Advocate (June 2020)
A dark, heady, brooding nose full of violets and blackcurrants. Liquorice, black truffle and scented black cherries are all noticeable straight away; this is quite a bold wine, with at first a chewy, mouth-filling texture, then settles to reveal layers of acidity, fruit and freshness as well as more detail to the tannins and overall structure. Very seductive and charming. Still so much potential with all the elements at the fore right now, persistent and driving. It will be excellent to approach in a few years.
Drink 2026 - 2046
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (March 2022)
About this WINE
Chateau Seraphine
Pomerol
Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux's major appellations, with about 150 producers and approximately 740 hectares of vineyards. It is home to many bijou domaines, many of which produce little more than 1,000 cases per annum.
Both the topography and architecture of the region is unremarkable, but the style of the wines is most individual. The finest vineyards are planted on a seam of rich clay which extends across the gently-elevated plateau of Pomerol, which runs from the north-eastern boundary of St Emilion. On the sides of the plateau, the soil becomes sandier and the wines lighter.
There is one satellite region to the immediate north, Lalande-de-Pomerol whose wines are stylistically very similar, if sometimes lacking the finesse of its neighbour. There has never been a classification of Pomerol wines.
Recommended Châteaux : Ch. Pétrus, Vieux Ch. Certan, Le Pin, Ch. L’Eglise-Clinet, Ch. La Conseillante, Ch. L’Evangile, Ch. Lafleur, Trotanoy, Ch. Nenin, Ch. Beauregard, Ch. Feytit-Clinet, Le Gay.
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Just 2,800 bottles were produced.
The 2019 Séraphine, the recent addition to the Pomerol landscape courtesy of proprietor Martin Krajewski, was very impressive when I tasted the barrel sample. Now in bottle, it delivers on that promise. It has a gorgeous, pure, lilting bouquet of blackberry, raspberry and light black truffle scents that unfold in the glass. I appreciate the definition, detail, and prudent use of new oak (40%). The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, a keen thread of acidity, a touch more backbone than a few months ago, and an insistent grip on the finish. Traces of black pepper furnish the aftertaste. As I said before, one to watch.
Drink 2026 - 2048
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (February 2022)
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