Wine Advisor
L'If 2017
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 L'If is fabulous. Rich and dense in the glass, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity and vertical explosiveness. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, smoke and dried flowers infuse the 2017 with tremendous complexity as well as nuance. The tannins are pretty much buried by the sheer depth of the fruit, while bright floral and spice notes punctuate the super-expressive finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 L'If is beautifully precise and lifted, with terrific energy and tension, much of it from the 9% Cabernet Franc that informs the blend this year. The bright, red-toned fruit, tobacco and floral notes are finely sculpted in this super-polished Saint-Émilion. The 2017 is a bit restrained relative to prior vintages, but that seems to suit the wine just fine. This is a stellar showing from Jacques and Cyrille Thienpont. Tasted two times.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 L’If is the sibling property to Le Pin since it is owned by Jacques Thienpont and Fiona Morrison. The wine has a voluminous dark cherry and cranberry scented bouquet with light iodine touches. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy ripe red fruit, fine-boned tannins with moderate acidity. A gentle and caressing L’If that will drink earlier than the previous vintage and doubtless the following.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 L’If includes an additional hectare this year, one of four replanted after it was purchased by Jacques Thienpont and it includes some Cabernet Franc. It was picked between 28 September and 4 October with hardly any vines touched by frost. It has a very lucid purple hue. The bouquet is quite opulent and very pure, quite focused and gaining in clarity in the glass with copious blueberry, cassis and pastille like aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. It might not be the most complex L’If I have tasted but I like the salinity that comes through in its final third. Give this three or four years in bottle.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Blended of 91% Merlot with 9% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 L'If is deep garnet-purple in color, featuring beautiful crushed red cherries and black raspberries on the nose with underlying black plums, baking spices and roses notes plus a waft of Sichuan pepper. Medium-bodied with wonderfully elegant tannins and beautiful freshness, it has well-sustained mid-palate fruit and a long, earth-laced finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 L'If is fabulous. Rich and dense in the glass, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity and vertical explosiveness. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, smoke and dried flowers infuse the 2017 with tremendous complexity as well as nuance. The tannins are pretty much buried by the sheer depth of the fruit, while bright floral and spice notes punctuate the super-expressive finish.
About the Producer
It should perhaps come as no surprise then that Jacques, assured in his success at Le Pin, should look around for a new challenge. It may have been that he would have liked to expand his little vineyard in Pomerol, and indeed he has purchased a few rows of vines over the years. But suitable plots are hard to come by, not every parcel he purchases makes the grade anyway (especially parcels acquired on a “well, if you want that vineyard, you have to buy this one too” basis). And of course these days, this is even more expensive than it was back in the 1970s; land now changes hands at a much greater price than the ‘mere’ million francs he once paid. There is an obvious solution of course; look elsewhere in Bordeaux, where parcels of land come up for sale more often than once in a blue moon, and when they do the price tag is less eye-watering. Normally on the right bank this means Castillon, or one of the satellite appellations. To Jacques, it meant St Emilion. It was in 2010 that Jacques Thienpont decided to look beyond the borders of Pomerol for a new vineyard venture, and it was not long before he came across Château Le Haut-Plantey, a small property for sale on the plateau of St Emilion, in the Mondot secteur. Having looked through older editions of Cocks et Féret back as far as the first edition, in 1850, I can find no trace of this estate, or indeed of Château La Bouygue as it was also once known. What I have discovered, however, is that the property enjoys an enviable location, sitting just beneath the gardens of Château Troplong-Mondot, a short distance down the road from Château Bellisle-Mondotte. Jacques clearly thought the position to be good as a deal was done, and he soon found himself the proprietor of a vineyard of a decent size, complete with a few tired-looking but perfectly functional buildings. He named the new estate L’If, if being French for yew (there’s a tree theme here, as pin is French for pine), although I don’t believe there is a yew tree on the domaine (perhaps one will arrive soon). That was the easy part though. He had a lot of work on his hands if the estate was to produce something of the level of quality Jacques was hoping for. (6/8/15, updated 11/12/16)
