Appellations

Evangile 2019

Pomerol

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Tasting Notes

The 2019 L'Évangile is tasted from two bottles, the first hideously corked. The second has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry and truffle. A welcome briny note becomes more pronounced with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy and pure. A sweet core of fruit with an almost candied and very flattering finish. A bit evolved? Wonder how long-term it is though? Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Score: 91 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2042 Date: 01 February 2023

I was quite critical of the 2019 L’Évangile when I tasted it as a barrel sample, and of course the winemaking team has changed since this was made. The 2019 has a very floral bouquet of ripe dark berry fruit infused with violet and peony notes. The 15.3° alcohol has slightly blurred the edges since bottling. The palate is medium-bodied and rounded, with fleshy, ripe tannins and no hard edges. And that’s the problem. This just lacks tension and feels static; there’s no "movement" in this Pomerol compared to, say, its neighbor Vieux-Château-Certan, which I tasted immediately before. The succeeding vintage is definitely superior.

Score: 91 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2045 Date: 01 February 2022

The 2019 L'Évangile was picked from 13 September, expediting the picking of the young Merlot that was threatened by hydric stress, the Cabernet Franc picked 22-27 September. This is the first vintage to include a "pinch" of Cabernet Sauvignon from the newly planted plot, for now just 0.5% of the blend. Matured in 75% new oak instead of the usual 100%, it has a rich and opulent bouquet with mulberry and blueberry fruit. I am seeking just a little more delineation and nerve vis-à-vis its peers, more clarity and terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with soft, rounded tannins that impart a seductive creamy texture, a leitmotif of this Pomerol cru and vintage. I would prefer more Cabernet influence towards the finish that would lend more dimension and personality. It is a sensual Pomerol but the oak still seems superfluous and detrimental to clarity on the finish.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2045 Date: 16 June 2020

The 2019 L'Évangile was picked from 13 September, expediting the picking of the young Merlot that was threatened by hydric stress, the Cabernet Franc picked 22-27 September. This is the first vintage to include a "pinch" of Cabernet Sauvignon from the newly planted plot, for now just 0.5% of the blend. Matured in 75% new oak instead of the usual 100%, it has a rich and opulent bouquet with mulberry and blueberry fruit. I am seeking just a little more delineation and nerve vis-à-vis its peers, more clarity and terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with soft, rounded tannins that impart a seductive creamy texture, a leitmotif of this Pomerol cru and vintage. I would prefer more Cabernet influence towards the finish that would lend more dimension and personality. It is a sensual Pomerol but the oak still seems superfluous and detrimental to clarity on the finish.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2045 Date: 01 June 2020

The 2019 L'Évangile is a highly problematic wine. Whether that is a result of excessive heat stress in the vineyard or decisions made in the field and the cellar, is hard to say. I thought élevage would bring the wine together. Instead, time has only accentuated the awareness present in the en primeur sample. I don't think it is a surprise that a whole new team led by Juliette Couderc and Olivier Trégoat is now in charge. Couderc and Trégoat have worked together previously at the Rothschild family's Long Dai winery in China and seem quite determined in turning things around here. Let me be clear; that does not mean the former team is necessarily totally responsible for the 2019, as some of the decisions may have come from higher up. There is no way for an outsider to know, and in the end it doesn't really matter. What is obvious is that the 2019 L'Évangile is alcoholic, aggressive in its contours and disjointed in feel. It goes without saying that quality is far from where it should be. Even so, Saskia de Rothschild is passionate about her family's Pomerol estate and does not shy away from critiquing her own wines, so I am confident the 2019 will one day be regarded as a bump in the road.

Score: 88 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027-2039 Date: 01 February 2022

The 2019 L'Évangile is a rich, sumptuous wine. There is a good bit of immediacy to the 2019, but ultimately the wine feels overripe and disjointed. Black cherry, chocolate, leather and spice add to the wine's flamboyant personality, but the 2019 never seems to totally come together.

Score: 91 - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 June 2020

Pencil lead and graphite reduction on the first nose, with turmeric and white pepper spice. This is delicious, less effortlessly exuberant than it was En Primeur, when the backbone was hidden by baby fat, and the oak is dominant right now. Inky in colour, as it opens you get gorgeous strokes of cocoa bean, damson and espresso, this is powerful and concentrated, but I get a flash of heat that hardens the tannins on the finish. Last year under Jean-Pascal Vazart, and the first to have Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1st wine (in 2018 it was in Blason, and made a particularly structured 2nd wine). 70% new oak (lowering from 2020 with the addition of amphoras and larger sized oak casks).

Score: 97 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2041 Date: 26 January 2022

From the very first moment your nose approaches the glass you know something special is happening. Seductive, rich, mouth-filling to the point that you really understand what that means. Just pops out of your mouth, with evident density of luscious blackberry and brambled raspberry fruit but also vertical climb through the palate. Violet notes marry with baked earth, grilled liquorice, tension and seduction. Highest level of Cabernet Franc in the blend in recent history, and first time that they have used all of the Cabernet Franc available in the vineyard - also first time to have this touch of Cabernet Sauvignon since the Rothschilds arrived at the property. Have I tasted a better l'Evangile? Certainly not at this stage, and one of the very few wines in 2019 that I can say without question approaches a perfect score. I don't give 100s at En Primeur but this is off the scale delicious, and I already can't wait to taste it in bottle. 98-100.

Score: 98 - 100 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2050 Date: 25 May 2020

A rocking bouquet of blue fruits, dark chocolate, damp earth, and violet emerges from the 2019 Château L'Evangile, a slightly fresher yet still deep, concentrated expression of this château. Full-bodied, with beautiful tannins, a great mid-palate, and certainly no shortage of length on the finish, it has the silky, seamless style of the vintage, yet I'd still give bottles a solid 7-8 years in a cold cellar. It's a slightly changed style but still gorgeous.

Score: 96 - 98 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 11 June 2020

The 2019 L'Evangile is composed of 83.5% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested from the 13th of September to the 3rd of October. The alcohol comes in at 14.6%. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose hits the ground running with opulent scents of ripe black cherries, dried mulberries, baked plums and warm blueberries plus hints of candied violets, licorice, molten chocolate and wild sage with just a drop of hoisin. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully concentrated with seductive layers of exotic spice-laced black fruit preserves and a velvety texture, finishing long and with just enough freshness. Tantalizingly moreish!

Score: 96 - 98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 05 June 2020

Lots of black-olive, crushed-berry and wet-earth aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, yet polished with a very fine, velvety texture from the tannins. It’s long and structured with a blue-fruit and stone undertone to the palate. Some sage, too. More balanced than in the past. Extremely persistent on the palate. 83.5% merlot, 16% cabernet franc and 0.5% cabernet sauvignon.

Score: 97 - 98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 28 May 2020