Blason de l'Evangile, Pomerol, 2021
We tasted with Juliette Couderc, the new winemaker at Evangile, who arrived at the chateau in 2020 following a stint at Domaine de Long Dai (the Rothschild's estate in Shandong Province). She is full of enthusiasm, is clearly very gifted and is having an immediate impact on the wines. One or two plots on sandier terroirs were affected by frost. June was very wet. Juliette counted 20-23 treatments for mildew, but they managed to maintain their organic status. Simple, but enjoyable and well-constructed. Produced from 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc with no new oak. Not complex, plenty of red fruit notes, then an ample, quite slick, medium bodied palate. There's nothing vegetal here, just pure, rather charming plummy fruit with well-judged tannins and a nice seam of acidity. Refreshing.
critic reviews
A blend of 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Blason de L’Evangile has a medium garnet-purple color. Floral notes of roses and lavender skip out of the glass, leading to a core of red and black plums, with hints of dusty soil and allspice. Medium-bodied, the palate is bright and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and lovely purity on the finish.
The austerity found En Primeur is still here but the aromatics do a great job of filling things out, and this has delicate raspberry leaf and red cherry fruits. No chaptilisation, and no fining before bottling. 5% new oak for ageing and large-sized oak casks, and the large sized foudes, plus 20% in stainelss steel. Both frost and mildew meant a 20hl/h yield. First organic-certified vintage, and first full year with Juliette Couderc as technical director.
The 2021 Blason de L'Évangile, which is partly aged in foudres and concrete to impart more freshness, has a strict bouquet with dark berry fruit, a touch of cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with black pepper and rosemary on the entry and moderate depth. It’s a little coarse and dry on the finish, therefore, I would drink this over the next four or five years.
The 2021 Blason de l'Evangile has actually benefited, in a sense, from the frost, as the estate's lesser, sandier terroirs were hit hardest and represent a smaller proportion of the blend than usual. Bursting with aromas of plums, berries, violets, licorice and mint, it's medium-bodied, fleshy and suave, with powdery tannins and succulent acids. Some 20% was matured in tank and another 20% in foudre, leaving the wine's fruit in the foreground.