La Violette 2016

This tiny production cuvée comes the team at La Gay. The 2016 Château La Violette is all Merlot raised in new oak. It’s more reserved and elegant compared to the sexier 2015 and has medium to full-bodied notes of blackberries, violets, smoked earth, and incense. Seamless, nicely concentrated, with good acidity and fine tannins, give bottles 4-5 years in the cellar and it should keep for two decades. As with the Le Gay in 2016, this cuvée leans heavily toward the fresher, more elegant end of the spectrum at the expense of opulence. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful wine. Drink 2023-2043.

The nose has violets a trace of coconut the palate meaty rich with powerful black fruits and dark chocolate. The fleshy rich middle is underpinned by bramble some spicy oak lighter at the back but it finishes with ripe damsons brooding black fruits. 2027-44

La Violette can be a bit of a blockbuster wine in some vintages, but that’s not the case here. Rich and dense, it most certainly is, with tannins that haven’t quite integrated yet, but this is a smoky, brambly, fleshy Pomerol with considerable potential. 2025-32

The 2016 La Violette has an engaging bouquet of voluptuous black cherry, boysenberry and crème de cassis aromas, very pure but not as overpowering as in previous vintages. The palate is rounded and generous, displaying sensual tannin that imparts a velvety texture. It feels slightly lower in acidity than its peers, but there is impressive volume and density toward the finish, which coats the mouth with blue and black fruit. Decadent but with just the right amount of class to render this a quite delicious, sensual Pomerol. Drink 2023-2043.

The 2016 La Violette is pure Merlot picked from 4 to 7 October at just 29 hectoliters per hectare, de-stemmed by hand and matured in 100% new oak. It has a lower alcohol level than Le Gay at 13.5%, because the terroir is cooler. The bouquet is very opulent and showy, plush red cherries intermingling with crème de cassis and blueberry jam, missing the delineation of some of its peers. This is strange because with that lower alcohol level, I was expecting something more terroir-driven. The palate is full-bodied, although certainly not as glossy or as flamboyant as older vintages of La Violette. It is well balanced, overtly modern in style and very polished as always. However, it is missing that complexity and engaging personality that other Pomerols possess on the finish. I probably have a preference for the 2015 La Violette, even though this is a very attractive, if slightly predictable wine. Drink Date 2022 - 2040

Juicy and fruity red with round tannins and a delicious finish. It’s tight and reserved yet offers so much on the center palate. Gorgeous.