Skip to main
Justerini & Brooks logo
Personal cellar account icon
Mini Cart Icon
Château Les Cruzelles, Lalande de Pomerol
Château Les Cruzelles

Château Les Cruzelles, Lalande de Pomerol, 2021

Available Vintages
all20172021202220232024
justerini & brooks tasting note

The 'entry level' wines, that is to say the wines not produced at the Durantou flagship Pomerol estate, Chateau L'Eglise Client, always rank amongst our 'best value' buys. Saintayme, Chenade, Cruzelles and Montlandrie offer excellent value for money. Since Denis' death, his long-term collaborator, Olivier Gautrat has stepped up to assist Noémie and Constance. He describes 2021 as "Equilibre", a vintage of perfect balance. Produced from the same estate as La Chenade, but hailing from the more gravelly, clay soils, Les Cruzelles has received rave reviews over the last decade. More brooding and masculine in profile (than Chenade), also more purity. You can feel the additional new oak influence in a positive way. Dark fruited, with a solid core of gravelly cassis, minerals, toast framed by a cool stoniness on the finish. Rather handsome. 65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc.

critic reviews

89/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

A blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, Les Cruzelles 2021 is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes skipping out with energetic notes of crushed plums, fresh blackberries, and juicy raspberries, giving way to an undercurrent of tar and anise. The medium-bodied palate has a firm backbone of grainy tannins, with plenty of freshness, delivering a burst of pure red and black flavors and a savory finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2035
date of review 04/2024
91/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2021 Les Cruzelles has an attractive nose, the addition of the Cabernet Franc usually used in La Chenade imparting greater complexity: mainly black fruit, tar and graphite, with more red plum and mocha notes percolating through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine-boned entry and good acidity. Harmonious, with admirable weight on the finish endowed with a touch of sour cherry, this constitutes an elegant and poised Les Cruzelles that will mature well in bottle.

DRINKING WINDOW 2027 - 2039
date of review 02/2024
93/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Deep ruby colour with aromatic depths. Toasted oak, liqourice root, peach pit, tobacco, cocoa bean, blueberry. Delicate, well structured, fingers of peony on the finish, still with the reserve of the vintage that means the texture is less fleshy than in recent vintages of this wine. One to look out for, no need to wait too long, one of the few that I feel has improved over ageing. 50% new oak. Harvest September 23 and 27.

DRINKING WINDOW 2026 - 2040
date of review 02/2024
90/100Yohan Castaing,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc matured in 50% new oak barrels, the 2021 Les Cruzelles shows a dark, wild bouquet with aromas of cherries, iris, dark wild berries and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, elegantly juicy and fleshy, its seamless and fresh with a layered texture and powdery tannins. This well-made, forward, balanced beauty will drink well right out of the gate.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2034
date of review 02/2024

product details

Country:
France
Region:
Bordeaux
Appellation:
Lalande de Pomerol
Producer:
Château Les Cruzelles
Style:
Red Wine
Grape Variety:
Merlot Cabernet
abv:
13%

you may also like

Shop All wines