La Chenade 2022

Clear spice, good lift, plenty of brambled dark fruits, a touch of dried fruits alongside the spiced cinnamon and rosemary notes, this is skilfully handled by the same winemaking team as L'Eglise Clinet, good balance and lift on the finish, if some impact of the vintage. 30% new oak. Sandy gravel soils.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.Zesty and fresh, the Cabernet Franc offering an extra dimension this year. Plenty of fruit on the palate but length as well. Tannins ripe and well handled. Should drink well early but could surprise with a bit of time in bottle. Should be GV. (JL) 14.4%Drink 2026– 2036

The 2022 La Chenade is bashful at first, perhaps due to the weather on the day I visited, though with a few swirls, it reveals finely delineated blackberry, iris flower and subtle mineral elements on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied, but what strikes you immediately is the sheer purity of fruit. There is a patina of new oak to be subsumed (30% here), but there is plenty of substance to soak that up. It has impressive weight on the finish. This is a Lalande-de-Pomerol from Nöemie Durantou that I might have underestimated from barrel. 2028 - 2045

The 2022 La Chenade was picked between 1 and 9 September and raised in 30% new oak. This has a perfumed and floral bouquet, with iris and peony infusing the black and red fruit and a light marine influence in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, good depth, white pepper and clove filtering through the earthy fruit on the finish. So much character and personality in this Lalande-de-Pomerol. 2028-2045

A focused and polished red with berry, chocolate and walnut character. Medium body. Focused center palate and a fresh finish. Coffee-bean and ripe-seed character. Vivid.

A real sign of the vintage to see how the Durantou wines performed in Lalande in the heat of 2022 and here we have fully ripe blackcurrant and black cherry fruits, sweet and highly spiced, careful extraction as you would expect, annd this is good quality, but for me the mark of the vintage are the clove notes on the finish. 30% new oak. Sandy-gravel soils, 28hl/h yield. Harvest dates September 1 to 9.