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1983 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
Initially a bit musty and dirty on the nose, this got very good with air. No TCA here! Earthy and cedary, with some old plummy notes as well. Not dense on the palate, this certainly feels like it's on the downswing and that it's time to drink up. A bit herbal and thin, and with air, this developed a bit of a bloody/meaty note that was reminiscent of Northern Rhones. (93 points) -
1989 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
A fantastic showing of this wine; no pyrazines but a bit of cedar and smoke here, supplemented by plenty of plummy fruit. Spicy and aromatically complex. The palate is a continuation of all of this; it's a little less obvious than the outstanding 1990, in that there are more nuances and flavours here. A very slight bit of funk comes into play here as well. (95 points) -
1990 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
An absolutely wow wine. Admittedly a bit simplistic next to the 1989, but what it lacks in the nuance and complexity this makes up for in its singular clarity of fruit. Powerful and primary, with a clear black plum note on the nose and palate, with sweet fruit giving this a very broad texture on the palate. For my taste, this is drinking at an absolutely incredible spot right now, though there's no doubt that there's ample further aging potential here. Probably my favourite bottle tonight. (95 points) -
1998 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
A huge change in style from the 1989 and 1990 (though that may just be the age difference). This is truly primary fruit (whereas the 1990 might just feel like it) in a juicy way. Ample acidity to keep this wine lifted despite all of the sweet fruit here. Unresolved tannins on the finish give this a bit of a burlier texture too. Some modest herbal notes emerge with air. A wine very much worth keeping an eye on. (93 points) -
2000 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
It's quite possible that the bottles I had tasted previously were not totally sound (despite their sourcing directly from the estate), because this bottle tonight was pretty damn impressive. Next to the 2000 VCC, this was the surlier, darker neighbour. The fruit is quite intense and concentrated, and you get the sense that this was made with shot berries. Impressive concentration here, this will probably last longer than the more elegant and currently approachable VCC. (95 points) -
2000 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
Absolutely lovely wine that I strongly preferred to the 2005. This is elegant and light, more red-fruited, perfumed, and lifted than many of the other wines tonight. Despite that, there's certainly plenty of palate weight here, but I do get the sense that this tapers off just slightly on the finish. For drinking now, I preferred this to the Evangile, but I think that the Evangile is the wine with the longer life expectancy. (95 points) -
2009 Château La Conseillante - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
Of the young Pomerols tonight, this was far and away my favourite. Such a stunning showing of pure fruit without being marred by oak. Slightly herbal with a touch of mint, but the nose comes across more as perfume than smelling like wine. Despite that sort of wispiness, this is a powerhouse on the palate with copious amounts of fruit that are hiding the structure underneath. Very ripe but very much under control; the fruit doesn't for a second feel overdone. Truly impressive. (95 points) -
2005 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
A bit of an intractable wine, even though the quality was quite clear here. Next to the light and elegant 2000, this was more closed, especially due to a big dose of tannin on the finish. The fruit is present and fairly large-scaled, but it's the tannins here that push the fruit towards the background. Certainly more open than a 2005 red Burgundy, but I can't help but think that the vaunted 2005 vintage is a bit of a letdown. Maybe it'll come around? I'm not betting on it. (93 points) -
2010 Château Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
This is starting down the path of the anonymous international style a bit for me. A distinctive chocolatey note both in terms of the flavour and some textural creaminess as well. Quite sweet and ripe, with a slight bit of bitter oak tannin here. Drinking much better than a very disappointing 2010 Evangile alongside. (90 points) -
2010 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
A huge disappointment after a string of fantastic wines from this producer. This is certainly of the modernist, international style. The thing that keeps this wine from dropping even lower is just the outrageously high quality of the fruit here. It's perfectly ripe, sweet, and balanced with the fruit tannins on the finish. But then you take that ideal wine, and throw oak all over it, giving you some of those burnt notes on the nose, vanilla and lactones on the palate, and most unforgivably the bitter tannins on the finish. What a waste. (85 points) -
2015 Château L'Eglise-Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (8/25/2022)
A fine, serviceable wine of a somewhat anonymous, international style. You could have told me that this was made in California, or South America, or a multitude of places and I would have believed you. Intense, juicy fruit here, losing some of the distinct plummy notes that I want in Pomerol. The oak usage here isn't as egregious as it could be, but it's definitely enough to mar the finish with some bitterness. This may get better with time, but I also have a hard time believing that this will evolve into something like the Pomerols of the 30 years ago. (88 points)
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Nice tasting Adrian.
Any idea on a drinking window for 2000 L’Evangile if you only have a single left?
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Wait on it. VCC is great now, Evangile probably has another 5-10 to go to get to a great place.
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Nice notes! The '90 L’Evangile is fire (
), as the kids say. Had a bottle pre-pandemic, and have one bottle left. A pity on the 2010 though; I’m not sure that I love 2010 right banks, and I am thinking I may just sell mine (both Clinet & L’Evangile)
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Interesting. I had almost the opposite experience with La Conseillante 2000 and 2005. The 00 was backward and not very giving, and while the 05 is a wine for the ages, it showed very well both times I had it over the past couple of years. I wouldn’t use a grumpy 05 VCC as a referendum on the vintage, but I suppose I won’t hurry to open one of my few bottles.
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@A_So - thanks for the great post!, I only have an OWC-6 of the 2009 La Conseillante, seems like it’s time to try one!
I’m available 
Two years ago I had a bottle of the 1998 l’Evangile, and I think I liked it a bit more than your bottle:
Ranked #2 on the night by me, just behind a 1989 Lynch-Bages, this was outstanding, with excellent fruit, smoke, herbs, the whole nine yards (~8.2296 meters). Very pleased and just delicious with reverse seared charred BBQ ribeye. Outstanding.
@Craig_G - Let me know if you are ever in Portland, OR and we will see if we can connect and open a bottle!
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Great notes.
I had the 2005 VCC from half bottle, and while still quite tight, showed some sign of emerging. I get what you say about the blob of tannin in late mid palate, but after about a half hour, it began to integrate.
I am also a 1998 Evangile fan.Sounds like an off bottle.
At a big 00 vs 05 retrospective maybe five years ago, in general I found the 00s to be much more compelling than the 05s. They were all more open and lacked the hard tannins of the younger vintage. I haven’t experienced the opposite very much since, but admittedly I don’t drink much Bordeaux.
I’ve not been too keen on relatively recent vintages of Evangile (10 and 15 the ones I’ve tasted in the last few years). Seems like it’s gotten modernist.
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Interesting. I wasn’t not a fan of the 98 Evangile so I’m wondering what your experience was that makes you think the bottle I tasted was off?
I have tasted this several times; it’s old regime L’Evangile from an excellent Right Bank year. The fruit is still red and present, but it’s not massive or overripe. As of a few weeks ago, in the early stages of maturity, plenty of bright fruit, but also quite a bit of tertiary progress.
The fruit was not particularly sweet, which is probably the one area where I had an issue with your note, in fact the sweetness was pretty dialed back compared to some of the other Right Bank 1998s. I have also tended to average several points higher, as it is a wine I like.
Popping one of these end of month when The Todd is visiting, it’s one of his favorite Bordeaux. Hope it shines!
Thanks for these fantastic notes, A So! Always on point!
I had read these yesterday before we went out to dinner, and perhaps it subliminally swayed me to order that 2001 Gazin that I posted abiut.