2021 Château Séraphine, Pomerol, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
A delicious slice of Pomerol, leans into the vintage by going for elegant, finessed fruit rather than overly intense extraction, but you'll get plenty of supple and fleshy raspberry and cassis fruit, and curls of black chocolate, spiced cocoa bean and black truffle. 30hl/h yield, 40% new oak, 5% amphora, 15% press wine.
Drink 2026 - 2042
Jane Anson, janeanson.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Séraphine, from a site opposite the athletics ground in Pomerol, was lightly touched by the frost, according to owner Martine Krajewski. Daughter/winemaker Charlotte told me that it was picked September 24 to October 4 at 30hL/ha, and matured in 40% new oak, with a clay amphora used for the old Cabernet Franc. This has quite an aromatic bouquet, one of the most floral that I have encountered in recent years, revealing touches of cinnamon and dark chocolate with time. The palate is medium-bodied and finely tuned, with sappy red fruit. A classically styled Pomerol with an elegant, understated finish that lingers in the mouth and a saline aftertaste. Very fine. Around 3,000 bottles. (13.5% alcohol)
Drink 2028 - 2048
Neal Martin, vinous.com, (May 2022)
Very dark crimson. Smells both darker-fruited and a little riper than the Clos Cantenac. Pure cassis and a touch of cedary oak but the fruit is the star. With an attractive dusty quality that adds complexity and hints at freshness and textural finesse. Deliciously dry and chalky tannins, like layers of paper. The amphora component has clearly made its mark, in a good way, highlighting the fruit and not thickening the tannins, as oak often can do. Much too young to drink but surprisingly drinkable!
Drink 2026 - 2033
James Lawther, jancisrobinson.com (May 2022)
A strong effort in a challenging year, the 2021 Séraphine offers up pure and fruit-driven aromas of raspberries, plums and cherries, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that's quite rich and layered by the standards of the vintage, exhibiting powdery tannins and good persistence on the finish.
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 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
A delicious slice of Pomerol, leans into the vintage by going for elegant, finessed fruit rather than overly intense extraction, but you'll get plenty of supple and fleshy raspberry and cassis fruit, and curls of black chocolate, spiced cocoa bean and black truffle. 30hl/h yield, 40% new oak, 5% amphora, 15% press wine.
Drink 2026 - 2042
Jane Anson, janeanson.com (May 2022)
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