Tasting Notes
Vinous 88
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.
Anticipated maturity: 2027-2039
James Suckling 96
Fruit-tea, blackberry, tile and ripe-fruit aromas follow through to a full body with density and richness. Chocolate and walnut. Dense and seamless with super fruit and length. Lots of fruit. Very polished. Stylized. All the cabernet franc on the estate is in the wine. From organic grapes. Give it at least five to seven years to open. Try after 2026.
Robert Parker 94
The 2019 L’Evangile is very good, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, warm spices, violets and loamy soil, framed by a nicely integrated patina of new oak that reflects a concerted effort to refine cooperage choices at this address in recent years. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it’s a broad, textural wine with a richly layered core of fruit, succulent acids and ripe, supple tannins that reflects the warm, dry vintage. As usual, it’s a Merlot-dominant blend, complemented by some 16% Cabernet Franc and now 1% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Anticipated maturity: 2027-2055
