L'If, St Emilion, 2014
Jacques was in a playful mood as he greeted us into his impeccable new cellars. This is the fourth vintage of L'If and he is taking a more hands on role with the winemaking and doing a little evangelical work with his cousin's son Cyrille who helps with the wine-making. Jacques is adopting the same wine-making philosophy here as he does at Le Pin - and it is beginning to show! A lot of hard work in the vineyard is also coming to fruition. Velvety, perfumed, not as aromatic as Le Pin, but very serious and expressive nonetheless. Some earthy notes of cèpe, forest floor and raspberry liqueur. Wonderfully succulent and juicy, with cashmere tannins. Gloriously decadent. 91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
The 2014 L’If has a dense, sultry nose at first, touches of salted liquorice infusing the black, almost tarry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet but firm tannin, a core of ripe, almost sorbet-fresh fruit, orange rind tincturing the finish. I find this actually improves in the glass, developing more sappiness with time although I would have liked more persistency on the aftertaste. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.