Enclos Tourmaline 2018

The 2018 Enclos Tourmaline comes from the lieu-dit Clinet, close to La Fleur-Pétrus and Trotanoy. It is made of 100% Merlot from vines averaging 25 years old planted in blue clay, and yields were 37 hectoliters per hectare. The wine fermented in 100% new oak and is anticipated to age for about 20 months. With 14.7% alcohol and a very deep purple-black color, it opens with pronounced baked black plums, black cherry compote and Christmas cake scents giving way to opulent Chinese five spice, potpourri and powdered cinnamon scents with a waft of dusty soil. Full-bodied and densely packed with muscular black fruits and firm, fine-grained tannins, it has just enough freshness and a spicy finish.

Wow. The purity of fruit in this wine is stupendous with crushed raspberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, very layered and gorgeous with superbly fine yet forceful tannins and a driven finish. A triumph. Pure-merlot magic here.

The 2018 Enclos Tourmaline is dark and inviting. Crème de cassis, red plum, cedar, menthol, tobacco, spice and new oak show the richer, more opulent side of Pomerol in this vintage. This is an especially creamy unctuous style, and it works nicely. Enclos Tourmaline, 100% Merlot, emerges from a tiny one-hectare parcel within La Patache. Tasted three times.

Very deep in colour, with a rich nose of cassis, bitter chocolate and espresso. The palate is rich and heady, with a bold structure full of chewy tannins. The fruit is exotic and heady, all damsons and backed plums. This is full bodied and very chalky at this stage, and will need time in bottle to settle and soften. Long and mineral on the finish.

From a miniscule one-hectare parcel right across from Clinet, on the upper plateau of Pomerol, the 2018 Enclos Tourmaline is a blockbuster in the making, and I suspect it’s going to give the 2016 a run for its money. Checking in as a 100% Merlot raised in new oak, which hit 14.7% natural alcohol, this inky color blockbuster boasts a massive bouquet of black fruits, smoke herbs, chocolate, and damp earth. It shows a more floral edge with time in the glass and it’s full-bodied, concentrated, and plush on the palate, with sweet tannins. It’s certainly one of the sexiest wines in this terrific vintage. Hats off to vineyard manager and winemaker Jérôme Aguirre as well as consultant Michel Rolland for another brilliant wine in the making. Tasted twice.

(100 Merlot) | 100% new oak | 14.7% alc | 100% barrel fermentation | Harvested 27th September | Only 3300 bottles produced A classic 2018 Pomerol with every element accounted for that you would like in a great wine. The nose is profound with incredible depth and richness of fruit. The palate doesn’t shy away, quite the reverse, as it comes to you and assaults your senses with masses of dark fruit and spice. The finish is long and not too tannic. The tannins are super-fine and very controlled and there is oak present but it doesn’t get in the way at all. This is a fabulously complex and rewarding wine.