Pomerol
With 150 or so producers and roughly 740 hectares of vineyards, the smallest of Bordeaux's major appellations is home to myriad bijou domaines – many making little more than 1,000 cases per annum. If the topography and architecture of Pomerol are typical, the style of its wines is anything but. The best vineyards are planted on a seam of rich clay extending across the raised plateau of Pomerol from the boundary of St Emilion.
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.
Prices:
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 23cs
Bottle
£26.25
Bottle
£27.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 29cs
Bottle
£31.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 32cs
Bottle
£63.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
When we cram ourselves back into the minibus between Châteaux tastings we always have a few minutes to chew things over, comparing and contrasting our notes. When we left Ch. la Conseillante there was a revered silence for a few minutes and one of my colleagues said “Scarlett Johanssen”. “Close”, I corrected “Salma”. What followed was a collective, sage like nodding of agreement from the bus and we moved on. Superb this year, as it is indeed most.
Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director
Case price (Bottle 12 x 75cl)
Bottle 12 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£89.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£93.00
Simon Berry - Chairman
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum
£320.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle
£335.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Adam Bilbey - Sales Director
Case price (Bottle 3 x 75cl)
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Case price (Imperial 1 x 600cl)
Imperial 1 x 600cl 2cs
Case price (Nebuchnzr 1 x 1500cl)
Bottle
£2,945.00
D. Magnum
£4,530.00
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 3cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
The tight kernel of fruit unfurls on the back palate coupled with persistent tannins. The finish is accompanied by an attractive smoky profile, suggesting clever use of oak. With plenty of dense and concentrated fruit, liquorice and blackberries, this is the most enjoyable tasting of this wine en primeur that we can remember.
Blend: 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc
Blend: 81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Real acidity provides freshness and a lovely texture. It is really polished. An underlying core of some depth, but the wine is very light in its feet. Very clean and precise, it is soft, light and beautifully spicy. There is so much complexity on the palate, yet the flavours are so refined. The wine has real length, but everything is understated and elegant.
Blend: 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Max Lalondrelle, Wine Buyer