Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

I don't drink much Pomerol, but when I do, I prefer the traditional stuff. My impression is that it's far easier to find balanced Merlot in this commune than in today's St. Emilion.

Of course, top Pomerol is very expensive, but there also seems to be a fair bit between $75-$100. If I was looking in that range, what would BWE recommend?

While I haven't had many, I would put Certan de May in this category. The 2001 Ian suggest is terrific and I picked it up for $58 all-in at auction.

I certainly agree on the 2001 Certan De May Patrick. It is traditional and well priced. The 1998 is very similar. I have cases of both on the go, and they are being depleted very fast. Difficult to choose between them, the 01 maybe is a bit more pleasing with its tensile grip. Nic recently had a good experience with the 2011 and the 2008 Pomerols are generally outstanding.

I also have ploughed through a case of 2001 Rouget and am ploughing through the 2000 now. I use the verb 'plough' because Rouget, while good value, is a bit prosaic. Kind of Pomerol without the specialness, without the pizzazz. 

I always thought that the 2006, 2008 and 2012 La Conseillantes offer superb value for money, especially in the context of the locale and terroir. They really are top drawer. I snagged a case of the 2012 last year and I got a case of the 2008 today. I noticed prices of these are starting to move up over here. That could be the Brexit effect. Some savvy American, European and Chinese buyers have been sniffing around London for bargains. I paid $110 a bottle for the Conseillante 2008 including taxes and at current exchange rates. Parker compared it to a Grand Cru Musigny (which costs ten times as much). 

In terms of other value for money Pomerols, Gazin is pretty consistent. Another one I think is a little undervalued for the property is Hosanna, but that may be pushing above your threshold. One of my wines of the year this year had been 1999 Hosanna, which used to be Certan-Giraud pre-1999. 

Gazin.

Patrick,

I thank you for starting a very interesting thread.
One of my ambitions is to get a better handle on Pomerol.
This is a fairly daunting proposition because the wines are expensive, hard-to-find, and many estates are so small that they're not used to receiving visitors.

Pomerol is, of course, tiny - by Bordeaux standards - so many of the estates are poorly distributed, especially on export markets.

I recently reported on a 2009 Gravette de Vieux Château Certain, which was an attractively priced, rather good 2nd wine.

I'm fond of :

- Bourgneuf (up and coming, just down the slope from Trotanoy).
- Beauregard (which is much improved of late)
- L'Enclos (FWIW, American owned and producing a wine well worth discovering)
- Feytit-Clinet (one to Watch, for sure)
- Rouget (a sleeper, attracively priced)
- Mazeyres (not great, but certainly good and quite affordable as Pomerol goes)
- La Pointe (which was long boring, but no longer is)

Izak Litwar has written a book on the subject. He swears by Ch. Belle Brise - although this is not inexpensive - and Cantelauze.

I've had good luck with Ch. Fayat, definitely affordable.

I hope Izak chimes in here.

All the best,
Alex

As long as the alcohol content does not exceed 14%, I have made good experience with La Petite Eglise, Franc- Maillet, Petit Village, Clos René, La Croix St.Georges, La Croix de Gay, and in particular with La Fleur de Gay in recent years.

The only Pomerols I've even drunk two vintages of are Petit Village and Croix du Casse so I can't be of much help here. In general though I've liked Pomerols of whatever price point I've been fortunate enough to try. I try to pick whatever appears to be a relative bargain at the time that isn't universally condemned; it usually works out OK.

A couple years ago I was treated to a bottle of 1982 L'Eglise Clinet.
It wasn't over the hill yet, but I don't think I fully appreciated it for what it was at the time. That's when my interest in Bordeaux was just beginning.
Not knowing better, I'm pretty sure the bottle was finished before it had fully opened up.

That's the only Pomerol experience I have, but looking forward to more in the future.

Latour a Pomerol.

I second Comte about La Conseillante although it's usually around 100 when released and sometimes even higher...

Other notables include Clinet and Gazin...

Pomerol is an AOC with a great homogeneity. I think i never been really deceived by a Pomerol. A very unique kind of merlot wine.

Now for your question Blanquito, i guess a excellent Chateau in a ok vintage can be a good choice. Even if ratings are so so, i liked 2004 Trotanoy and L'Église-Clinet for their balance, traditional Pomerol style. Croix du Casse is also very good, but more oaky. I had an unknown 2010 Chateau Caillou, and liked it a lot. And lately, 2011 Certan de May was full of personality even if needs 8-10 years.

I think you can't be wrong. Even the négociant Pomerol from Moueix is satisfying for 30ish dollars.

Nic

Generally the wines are good, even the lesser known/non reviewed estates. But they make very little so suggesting some of those isn't much help.

I'd concur with the Gazin and Latour a Pomerol. They are usually worth the money (sub $100) and keep well.

They are bigger, stronger Pomerols than most of the others. Although Le Gay can give them a run for aging too.

At the sub $50 points, I've always liked Croix du Casse and Rouget.

2012 is a vintage to also consider, and will be pretty well priced.

It's been a long time since I've had anything from this estate, perhaps the 1989 is what last graced my glass, so I was happy to drink the 2000 Vray Croix de Gay [Pomerol] over the last couple of days. Back in this era, it was managed by the the JP Mouiex empire, so it has their balanced approach to winemaking, rather than the 'music is better if its louder' approach favored by some. However, this well situated estate -- their vineyard plots are next to La Fleur Petrus, Le Gay, and Trotanoy -- has had significant ownership turmoil in the last 15 years. It's changed hands, along with sister Libournais properties Siaurac and Le Prieure, with the frequency and commitment of Jennifer Lopez to marriage. So it's unclear what might be going on here now as I don't see this ~1000 case production wine all that often. When I did purchase it was usually mail order from MacArthurs, but I see that the US outpost of Bordelaise negociant Millesima seems to have current release cases 'available' for $900. (That might be pre-arrival though). The 2000 shows some tertiary development on the nose: forest, but also mushrooms and truffles. The fruit is still sweet and plummy, refined with resolved tannins and only a slight hint of acidity upon the first sip. Sedimentation is fairly light given the decades. One recurring note in this mostly merlot/cab franc cepage that keeps sneaking in is a Graves like touch of smoke, bacon, hickory. Overall, it's a fine medium bodied Bordeaux, that has merited the money and patience (I purchased on release), even if it's not demonstrating Pomerol typicite the way the best textured mature examples might show.

Overall, I give it a B+ but suggest consumption now and, curiously, I found it to taste slightly better out of a wider Burgundy(!) stem, vs the S-Z above.

Recent run up in prices makes the $100 target price slightly unrealistic. The answer may be Certan de aMay and Latour a Pomerol, although both skate awfully close and probably exceed $100. To me, the glory of Pomerol is not in the lower end, as I think the wines de Sales etc are pretty ordinary, and are priced well over their Saint Emilion competitors. The greatness is in the top chateaux, which are unique and wonderful.

So a totally left field recommendation. Chateau Corbin. Yes, it is a Saint Emilion, but because of its location, the Pomerol appellation originally offered them the chance to be part of It. Not a great decision to turn it down, but they did.

Bourgneuf!

Guys
I am eternally jealous….
Wish I could get Pomerols like those mentioned for less than SGD100.
Okay the SGD is now worth about 70c in greenbacks.

The 2019 Rouget, Bon Pasteur and Croix du Casse tasted in recent months were all around SGD100.
The last vintage I could buy Gazin and similar ranked wines for less than $100 was 2008 and 2009 and then 2011 established much higher price points for Pomerols.

I never seem to buy many Pomerols these days which is a pity in some ways because their style is different to St Emilion - which I have quite a lot of.

Cheers
Mark

This subject was easier to talk about in 2016 than now. Painful to see Ian mentioning getting the 2012 Conseillante (an excellent wine) for less than $100!

I agree with Mark G that Pomerol shines at the high end (among which I include Conseillante). I haven’t been impressed with my forays into lower priced Pomerols like Bourgneuf. There’s a distinctively Pomerol combination of hedonism and elegance that seems to only show up with the top wines, others seem closer to St Emilion. But when it comes to the better Pomerols, this is probably my favorite wine region in the world

I can recommend Clos Du Clocher and Domaine de L’Eglise. Two phantastic price vs. value wines. Try the 2015 and 2016 vintages. Cheers, Stefan

+1 sisler.
So true.
Great wines in 2019.