Pomerol

Pomerol is a small appellation with the wines fetching a high price, with many regarded as the best in the whole of Bordeaux. With a large number of small properties, the village has no real centre, with every family seems to make wines.

The houses are modest, though still taking the name chateau. It is another big gravel bank, with slight rising but remarkably flat overall topography. Towards Libourne it is more sandy while to the east and north, approaching St-Emilion, it is often enriched with clay.

The wine style is gentle, rich, and most velvety of the Bordeaux red, with the deep color but not the marked acidity and tannin, with plum and creamy nose offering great concentration.

It has no classification and without long tradition, with the estates mainly under family and changes hands quite frequently. Many regarded Petrus as the best in Pomerol, followed by Trotanoy, but Vieux Chateau Certan is also a serious contender.

Le Pin is a microscopic even by Pomerol standards, created by Jacques Thienpont who also owned VCC. The price is exceptionally high, more than Petrus in many vintages, with the malolactic fermentation carried out in individual barrels.

Those which got the highest prices include also Clos l’Eglise, Chateau Clinet, L’Eglise-Clinet, La Fleur de Gay, La Fleur-Petrus, La Conseillante, L’Evangile, Lafleur, and Latour a Pomerol. These properties make dense, flesh and most opulent wines, with the average standards very high, with also good reliability but also high prices.

The most important influence is the negoces of Libourne, led by the family of Jean-Pierre Moueix, who either owns or manages a high proportion of the finest properties. They rebuilt Chateau Hosanna next to Petrus, and nearby Providence.

The wines are generally ready relatively soon for Bordeaux, with the main grape being Merlot, with 70-80%, followed by Cabernet Franc at around 20%, known locally as Bouchet.

Petrus actually is exclusively Merlot, growing on pure clay with exceptional results. With perfume and finesse, many of the wines are already attractive five years old.

I have tasted the following wines from Pomerol:

Chateau Clinet	1994
Chateau Clinet	2007
Chateau de Sales	2006
Chateau La Conseillante	2007
Chateau Latour A Pomerol	2005
Chateau Latour A Pomerol	2006
Chateau L'Eglise Clinet	2003
Chateau L'Evangile	1996
La Gravette de Certan	2009
Vieux Chateau Certan	2002