Wine Advisor
Nenin 2009
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The grand vin, the 2009 Nenin, is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc with 14% natural alcohol. This wine is the product of Jean-Hubert Delon, the proprietor of Leoville-Las-Cases and the excellent northern Medoc estate of Potensac. The wine has closed down considerably since I saw it from barrel, with a Medoc-like, structured minerality and backwardness. The tannins have moved to the front, and the wine displays loads of raspberry and black cherry fruit with a hint of earth in addition to floral notes. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 15-20 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with 11% pressed wine, delivering 13.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.68 and an IPT of 73, like the Fugue de Nenin, this is a little taciturn on the nose, demanding coaxing from the glass. Eventually, one finds notes of red cherries, boysenberry, wild hedgerow and a touch of iodine. The palate is full-bodied with rounded, quite toasty tannins, plush black fruits, boysenberry, a touch of pain grille and even some slight honeyed notes towards the finish. Ends up being quite an opulent Nenin, quite chewy on the finish though, where I am seeking some finesse. Tasted April 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that achieved nearly 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Nenin is the finest wine I have tasted since the estate was acquired by Jean-Hubert Delon (the family that also owns Leoville Las Cases). The full-bodied Nenin exhibits lots of cranberry and boysenberry fruit, a hefty, rich mouthfeel, and a fresh, lively, long, rich style. It can be drunk young or cellared for three decades. (Tasted once.)
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Chateau Leoville Las-Cases. The Nenin 2009 has a well-defined, slightly clayey bouquet with hints of black truffle and creme de cassis. The palate is very succulent on the entry with fine tannins, good backbone and very pure, vanilla-tinged fruit. It is quite linear at the moment, strict towards the finish with a chalky note on the finish. Very fine. Tasted September 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Nenin ‘09 has a high-toned nose with just a touch of over-ripeness: dried prune, truffle scents and a touch of bay leaf. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy but simple, with rather a hard finish that needs more harmony and finesse. Tasted January 2013.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(an 80/20 blend of merlot and cabernet franc; 13.9% alcohol; pH 3.68; IPT 73; 30% new oak) Medium-deep ruby. Initially closed but deep nose opens slowly to reveal black cherry, blackberry jam, coffee and minerals. Dense and tactile, but with harmonious acids keeping the ripe black fruit flavors light and buoyant on the palate. Though it maintains some of that classic Nenin chunkiness, this is more refined than usual for this wine and perhaps the best Nenin at this stage of its development made under the ownership of the Delon family. Unlike La Fugue de Nenin, which comes from sandy clay soil, Nenin's flagship wine is made from grapes grown on sandy-gravelly and clay-gravelly soils in the western part of the vineyard.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2009 Nénin has a high-toned bouquet with cassis, liquorice and cough candy aromas, attractive in a way although, not enough Pomerol for my liking. The palate is medium-bodied with a very sweet core of fruit, cassis and blueberry, low in acidity with a sumptuous and rounded finish. I appreciate the smooth texture but, I have encountered plenty of other vintages of Nénin with more complexity. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' Ten Year On tasting.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(the label says 14.5% alcohol): Bright, full red-ruby. Musky dark berries, black cherry and underbrush on the fresh nose, complicated by a smoky minerality. Lush, smooth and minerally, with lively flavors of plum, chocolate and smoke; nothing heavy about this Pomerol. Finishes with ripe tannins and very good length. This tightened up with air, showing the structure to age.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2009 Nenin is medium garnet colored and features notes of menthol, pencil lead and damp soil over a core of warm red and black currants, stewed plums and sautéed herbs. The palate is medium-bodied, restrained and refreshing in the mouth with a pleasantly chewy texture framing the red and black fruits, finishing with an herbal lift.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A racy red. Aromas of ripe raspberries and lemon rind, with hints of flowers. Full body, with tangy acidity and a creamy tannins and bright fruit. Very intense . Best in 2018.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A delicious Pomerol that manages to combine the richness the appellation is famous for with a lovely freshness and vitality. I love the elegant tannins that makes this turn ever drier as it flows over the palate. Plenty of life at the bright finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)
About the Producer
A terroir in the very heart of the Pomerol appellation... Chateau Nénin is one of the most beautiful estates in the appellation. The Grand Vin du Château Nénin is produced on the 8 hectares of the best clay and gravel parcels of the famous Pomerol Plateau. As soon as he bought the estate in 1997, Jean-Hubert Delon immediately undertook major work. Aware of the extraordinary potential of this estate, the vineyard was extensively restructured with new parcels planted with massale selection of the Cabernet Francs from the Léoville Las Cases enclosure. The production equipment have been completely rethought, extended and developed in order to produce the best wines out of the splendid grapes born on this exceptional terroir.
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