Wine Advisor
L'Evangile 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 L'Evangile is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc; the latter suffered more stress than the Merlot this year, especially the younger three and ten-year-old plantings. It was picked from 26 September until 10 October, which is earlier than many other Right Bank properties. It has a clean and precise bouquet with mineral-infused black fruit, more "distant" than the 2015 last year. With time, that small proportion of Cabernet Franc becomes more evident. The palate is medium-bodied with firm and grainy tannin. This is very structured as this Pomerol is wont to be, a gentle grip in the mouth, touches of tar and tobacco towards the finish that needs a little more flesh. I feel that this will develop during its élevage. This is excellent, although I do miss the contribution of the Cabernet Franc.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 L'Évangile is just as captivating from bottle as it was from barrel. Huge and explosive in the glass, the 2016 possesses stunning depth and textural resonance. At first a bit somber, the 2016 needs time in the glass to open up. Once that happens, all the elements fall into place in an effortless, gracious wine. Floral overtones add brightess to the dark cherry, chocolate, leather and spice flavors, while silky tannins round things out in style. Jean-Pascal Vazart describes 2016 as a late year. Harvest started on September 26, about ten days later than normal. The 2016 spent 16 months in French oak, 85% new.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 L’Evangile has a sumptuous, generous bouquet of copious wild strawberry and cranberry aromas laced with veins of blue fruit. The oak here is neatly integrated, and this l’Evangile is perhaps a little more open at this stage than other vintages I have tasted. The palate is silky-smooth on the entry, very harmonious and certainly fresh and tensile, displaying a fine bead of acidity. It perhaps does not quite deliver the riveting complexity of some of its peers toward the finish, where it needs more body and persistence, but otherwise this is a very finely crafted L’Evangile that should age well over the next 20 or 30 years.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2016 L'Evangile is made from 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep garnet-purple color and opens with notions of plum preserves, Black Forest cake, red cherry compote and black raspberries with touches of menthol, chocolate box, licorice and tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, the palate features fantastically ripe, velvety tannins and beautiful freshness, lifting the generous, brightly fruited mid-palate and giving bags of energy to the very long-lingering, minerally finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 L'Evangile has an engaging, charming bouquet that could only come from Pomerol, touches of truffle and white pepper intertwined with the dark berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, a fine bead of acidity, gentle grip, but there is real complexity and panache here. Wonderful length, this is a seriously fine Pomerol that has a long future ahead. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is a remake of the great 2015 but it’s much finer and more sophisticated. Such great quality and very sexy. Full body and ultra-polished and clean tannins. Salty, dark fruit. Superb length. Want to drink it!
Reviewed by: James Suckling
So ethereal and great on the nose with glorious fresh flowers, such as violets, together with black olives. Dark berries, too. But the archetypal Pomerol nose. Full-bodied yet, at the same time, so refined and structured. Glorious tannin tension and focus. Vibrant finish. Shows energy and focus. Try after 2024.
About the Producer
Chateau L'Evangile is one of the most famous châteaux in the Pomerol region of Bordeaux, France. In the mid-18th century, Chateau L'Evangile was owned by the Leglise family of Libourne, and its name, "Fazilleau", was recorded in the 1741 land register. At the beginning of the 19th century, the estate was bought by a lawyer named Isambert and renamed Chateau L'Evangile. Evangile is the French word for "gospel", and the renamed estate lived up to its name, becoming a true "gospel" of the Pomerol region. In 1862, Paul Chaperon acquired Chateau L'Evangile and made it famous through a series of efforts to give it a distinctive Second Empire style of architecture. In the second edition of Cocks Et Feret in 1868, Chateau L'Evangile was listed as a Premier Cru in the Haut-Pomerol region. After Chabron's death, his daughter inherited the estate, which she then brought to her husband's family, the Ducasse family, who ran the estate until 1990. In 1990, the estate was acquired by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite. Immediately after taking over, the group began a comprehensive reform and upgrading of the estate. The first steps included a more careful selection of the grapes used to make the main wine and the creation of Blason de L'Evangile, Pomerol, France, as a secondary wine. In addition, the renovation measures included a comprehensive reorganization plan: delaying the harvest as much as possible so that the grapes would be as ripe as possible, and controlling yields to a maximum of 4,500 liters per hectare in order to improve the quality of the vines, which was partially completed in 1998. 2004 saw the completion of the renovation of the winery and cellars, and the creation of a new layout for the estate. These vintages produced wines of excellent quality. Chateau L'Evangile is located in a unique location. The vineyard covers 22 hectares of sandy clay and gravel soils with a high iron content subsoil. The vineyard is planted with 80% Merlot and the remaining 20% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard's production is limited, and harvesting and many other tasks are done by hand. The winery employs Michel Rolland, the famous "flying winemaker", as a winemaking consultant. Under the management of the Lafite Group, the grapes from each parcel are divided into different lots in order to determine their potential for full-fledged wines at the final stage of fermentation. All aspects of the winemaking process are closely integrated with traditional techniques and proven modern technologies. During the fermentation process, the winery performs drenching and maceration, during which the wine is tasted several times. After fermentation, the wines are aged in oak barrels for 18 months. Due to the small size of the vineyard, the average annual production of the winery is 5,000 cases. Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, has praised Le Vin de Guignol as the "star of the future" of Pomerol and believes that it has the potential to grow even more under the leadership of Lafite. A book published many years ago, Grands Vins de Bordeaux, described the wines produced by the Rocquières as "full-bodied, elegant, and with unparalleled finesse."
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