Wine Advisor
Le Bon Pasteur 1994
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Lovely blueberry, mineral nose that has great purity and weight. Palate is backward, just becoming accessible. Full-bodied, rich, almost coarse tannins but very concentrated. Black high-toned fruits. Good length. Will be superb. 5-8 years. A great success for the vintage. Tasted May 2002.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This Pomerol overachiever has again produced two excellent wines, the 1994 and the 1995. The 1994 Bon Pasteur continues to be an impressively deep, rich, structured wine with complex vanillin, lead pencil, and jammy black-cherry fruit aromas intermingled with scents of mocha. Medium to full-bodied, with plenty of sweet fruit in the attack, moderate tannin, and excellent to outstanding depth, this wine will need 1-3 years of cellaring; it will keep for 15+ years. It is purely made, with the potential to merit an outstanding rating. All of the wines in this segment were tasted between March 19 and March 28 in Bordeaux. Most of the important wines from both the 1994 and 1995 vintages were tasted three separate times during my ten-day stay in Bordeaux.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The "good pastor" has turned out a rich, well-structured, concentrated Pomerol whose style resembles a hypothetical blend of the 1988 and 1990. It will require 4-5 years of cellaring, but it will last for 15-18 years. The color is an impressive dark purple, and the nose offers up an array of scents, ranging from mocha/coffee, to black-cherries, herbs, and smoky wood. Medium to full-bodied, with excellent depth, it is a fine, well-focused example of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Long-time readers are aware of my admiration for the husband and wife oenologist team of Dany and Michel Rolland. Michel is more visible in the international scene as he has performed magic at numerous estates in Italy, Spain, Argentina, California, and, of course, France. Rolland's success has not come without a price, as he now must endure an unprecedented level of criticism from a whining group of underachievers that appears to have one complaint - Rolland produces better wine than they do. A tell-tale Merlot/Pomerol nose of mocha, chocolate, tobacco, and sweet black-cherry/plummy fruit is followed by a medium-bodied wine with moderate tannin, excellent purity, outstanding richness, and a sweet finish. This wine requires 2-3 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2012.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Cherry, clove, minerals and chocolate on the nose. Velvety and dense, with a distinctive spicy character. Finishes long, with fine tannins. Showing more oak than the infant '95. Very attractive wine, but not as fine as the '95.
About the Producer
Château Le Bon Pasteur is a Pomerol estate, known for both the lush, supple quality of its wine and its history as the family property of the renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland. The seven-hectare (16-acre) vineyard is located on the boundary with Saint-Émilion and has a wide range of soil types. It is planted predominantly to Merlot, with 15-20 percent Cabernet Franc – exact proportions are hard to measure as some plots are mixed. Some of the vines were planted in the 1950s. The grapes are harvested by hand, and are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wines are then aged in predominantly new French oak for around 18 months and bottled without fining or filtration. World-renowned winemaking consultant Michel Rolland took over the running of Le Bon Pasteur in 1978, although the estate had been in the family since 1920. It was sold to a Chinese investor in 2013, although Rolland remains as winemaker and estate manager.
