Les Cruzelles 2012

From the famous proprietor Denis Durantou, this blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from a vineyard just adjacent to its more famous neighbor, Pomerol, is a terrific 2012, one of the best Les Cruzelles I’ve tasted, right up there with some of the impressive Lalande de Pomerols of 2009 and 2010. This wine is supple-textured, opulent and full-bodied, with a dense ruby/purple color, loads of mocha, black cherry and currant fruit. Long, full-bodied, rich, it is best drunk over the next 10-12 years. A sleeper of the vintage. Drink: 2015 - 2027

The La Cruzelles is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc picked from 21st September until the 1st October, the Cabernet Franc picked on 6th October. There is certainly good volume on the nose with brambly dark berry fruit and briary scents. The oak will integrate during élevage. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. This is a tightly wound La Cruzelles, a little more masculine that previous vintage with a good backbone. It is focused and linear as always, with ample freshness on the finish that does not quite have the persistency of a top vintage, which is to be expected. Still a lovely wine that should be afforded two or three years in bottle. Tasted April 2013.

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, on clay and gravel. Less aromatic on the nose than the Chenade and the oak more evident. A little short of flesh in the middle but it has been made in a way that balances this so it is fresh and not astringent, the dark fruit brought out on the finish, which is longer than La Chenade. (JH)

The nose is lush ripe fruited with lots of fleshy plum. Rounded tannins and sweet black fruits give a sumptuous fleshy suppleness on the palate lots of bramble jelly. The sweetness is balanced by freshness but the finish is mouth filling and satisfying. 2016-27.