| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Lalande Pomerol |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This wine is produced by the Durantou family of Château L'Eglise Clinet in Pomerol. The fruit is sourced from a section of the Les Cruzelles vineyard with gravel soil and younger vines. This has probably been Farr Vintners' biggest selling Bordeaux wine en primeur over the last 15 years. Year on year La Chenade delivers the goods but the price remains reasonable.
The 2020 La Chenade was very promising when I originally tasted it from barrel. In bottle since May, it has developed a lovely nose with melted red berry fruit, wild mint and light fennel scents. Nicely delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. Extremely pure, very harmonious, this Lalande-de-Pomerol discretely crescendos towards its very satisfying, quite structured finish. Superb. Drink: 2025-2040
Made from Merlot grapes picked between the 9th and the 15th of September and Cabernet Franc grapes picked on the 16th of September, the 2020 La Chenade expresses a vibrant and elegant bouquet with aromas of dark berries, violet, rose, dark cherries and graphite. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a juicy and elegant wine with a fleshy core of fruit and a fresh finish. As usual, this estate has produced excellent red wine from sandy-gravel soils. 2023 - 2025
This is very creamy and polished with attractive blackcurrant and bitter citrus character. Medium-bodied, polished and lovely.
A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 La Chenade is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a little swirling to release notes of baked raspberries, kirsch, and stewed red and black plums, leading to suggestions of lavender, tar, and sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled with lovely purity and a pleasant chewiness to the texture, finishing long on a minerally note.
Supple and generous, with rapsberry and blackberry puree, floral aromatics, clear precision, edges of austerity from the big tannins of the vintage. Harvest September 9 to 16. 30% new oak 3.72ph. A yield of 38hl/ha. Noemie Durantou winemaker alongside Olivier Gautrat
The 2020 is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and will be aged in 30% new oak. Less than 850 cases will be made. 14% abv. Deep ruby purple in the glass. The nose is chock full of blueberry and plum, with a cool mineral note underneath. The palate is rich and juicy in fruit that is gently framed by succulent and silky tannins. Complexity comes from a hint of savoury spice and toast. This spherical and forward wine is bursting with fruit and freshness. Another superb Chenade that will be approachable when young.
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Fruit-driven, lively and juicy with a light tannic frame. Simple pleasure but falls away a bit at the end. (JL) 14%
Drink 2023 – 2028
(80% M, 20% CF; 40hl/ha; 14% ABV; 30% new)
Densely but freshly ripe nose, with a touch of gravel there; rich, fresh, and fleshy wine, with a very nicely contained tannin; ripe, plush, satisfying, gently and flatteringly rich, with a beautiful defining freshness and with lovely length. Beautifully made, a great success, and likely to be exceptionally good value. 2024–34+.
The 2020 La Chenade is clean and precise on the nose, offering a mixture of red and black fruit, plus hints of licorice and light minty scents loitering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, veering more toward black fruit. An underlying salinity then encourages the saliva to flow on the finish. This is a beautiful Lalande de Pomerol – elegance personified. 2025 - 2038.
The 2020 La Chenade is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, coming from vines planted to a sandy-gravel soil at the Durantous's Lalande de Pomerol estate. The Merlot was picked between the 9th and the 15th of September and the Cabernet Franc on the 16th of September. It has an alcohol of 14% and is aging in French oak barrels, 30% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with exuberant scents of Morello cherries, boysenberries and crushed red and black plums, plus suggestions of underbrush, damp soil and menthol. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and nicely balanced, with soft acidity and tannins framing the earth-laced red and black fruits, finishing long and minerally. 2024 - 2038
