2019 Chateau La Chenade Lalande-de-Pomerol

2019 Chateau La Chenade Lalande-de-Pomerol

2019 Chateau La Chenade Lalande-de-Pomerol 

This wine is a steal for what’s in the bottle. Last vintage was a huge success with our customers and 2019 looks even better. This was a find. Denis Durantou can only be described as a Master Bordeaux Winemaker. He is one of the very few rock stars in Bordeaux, whatever he makes turn to gold. He has mastered all the great appellations. His 2012 Chateau L”Eglise Clinet was the only wine from the vintage to score 100pts by Parker. Today I bring to you Mr. Durantou’s personal property from Pomerol, his pride and joy from the great 2019 vintage. The 2019 Chateau La Chenade is an absolutely glorious Bordeaux. The soil and exposure are very close to the plateau of Pomerol where L’Église Clinet is located The 2019 vintage for Bordeaux is a great year, everything I have read and tasted confirms that 2019 is a seriously good vintage for Bordeaux and the right bank has excelled. The wine is also a great value from such a great vintage and such a great winemaker. This wine is a wow! I have a limited allocation to offer. This is a no-brainer buy for those looking for drinking Bordeaux of the highest caliber to enjoy over the next ten years. Our price is strong!

Winemaker, Denis Durantou! From The Great 2018 Vintage.
The 2019 La Chenade is plump and voluptuous in the glass, with terrific fruit presence and tons of pure character. Inky dark cherry, plum, spice, new oak and chocolate are all amped up in this racy, super-inviting Lalande de Pomerol. Denis Durantou and his team coaxed an unreal level of finesse in 2019. Harvest took place between September 18 and 26. Denis Durantou’s 2019s are absolutely brilliant across the board. My tasting was obviously bittersweet, as Durantou lost his battle with illness just a few weeks prior. Denis Durantou was one of the most intriguing characters in Bordeaux. I can’t say I knew him well, but I always enjoyed tasting with him, as he was a person that spoke more with his eyes than with words. Things were implied rather than overtly stated. So, I tasted the 2019s with daughters Constance and Noémie over Zoom, in typical 2020 fashion. The Durantou sisters describe 2019 as a year with an early flowering and homogenous ripening that led to small, concentrated berries and higher pHs than normal. Temperatures were kept cool in the cellar, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place over cuvaison of 21 days (for all wines), in a reductive environment with little oxygen. From top to bottom, the Durantou 2019s are positively stellar. Don’t miss them! The soil and exposure are very close to the plateau of Pomerol where L’Église Clinet is located.” 93pts Vinous
Gorgeous perfumed nose, so floral and inviting. Smooth texture straight away, just so satisfying, creamy and chalky strawberry and red cherry. This is dense and full, bold and really showing the vintage in all its might but retains a sense of refinement and character. I like the personality here, it’s confident without shouting too loudly. I’d give it another year or so but I like the styling, feels well worked, smooth like velvet with herbal-edged blackcurrants, a touch of liquorice which is sticky and black, really lingering on the tongue, so you can tell it was a hot year. Seductive in the best way. An absolute bargain, but don’t drink now, wait! Blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The last vintage made by legendary winemaker Denis Durantou of Château L’Eglise Clinet with the estate now run by his daughters. 92pts Decanter