Pomerol is Bordeaux on a Burgundy scale. The small right bank appellation covers less than three square miles, and is home to only 150 winemakers. But the wines of Pomerol are anything but small. In his landmark World Atlas of Wine, Hugh Johnson calls Pomerol “richest, most velvety and instantly appealing form of red Bordeaux.”
Planted in most other locales, Merlot produces soft, flat, undistinguished wines. But in Pomerol, the grape soars, producing some of the worlds most intense and expensive wines. Like Chardonnay and Chablis, Syrah and Côte Rôtie, it’s a persuasive argument for the power of terroir.
This spring we discovered an excellent new source in Pomerol, and one offering surprising value. The 2015 Feytit-Lagrave Pomerol impressed us with its depth and polish. At 80% Merlot (the rest is Cabernet Franc), the wine is very Pomerol: generous, rich, and round, with an attractive mouthfeel. The nose offers ripe dark fruit, cassis and blackberries.
The 2015 vintage produced legendary wines on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, and this Pomerol will certainly improve for a decade or more. But today it opens steadily in the glass over a half-hour, offering earlier drinking than you might expect. Pair it with a roast — duck, beef tenderloin, grilled steaks — something to match the hearty, audacious spirit of Pomerol.
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Feytit-Lagrave Pomerol 2015
bottle price: $55
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES