The nine wines from Pomerol shown at last month’s UGCB tasting were forward and delicious. It’s a small snapshot of the appellation obviously but there was nice life and zest in the wines shown. Château La Conseillante, Château Gazin and Château Petit-Village led the pack, along with Château Clinet. Château Beauregard, Château La Croix de Gay and Château La Pointe looked very good too.
Overall in 2013 Pomerol has not made wines as good as in 2011 and 2012. Perhaps the quality lies somewhere between 2007 and 2008, though the acidity seems more marked than in both those years. There are successes but also disappointments. At the Cercle Rive Droite tasting, Pomerol was outplayed by the St Emilion Grand Crus Classé shown. At the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux tasting the standard felt better, but if the wines were more consistent, they felt a little compact, sometimes lacking expression, strange in an appellation not usually shy in coming forward. Not even Pomerol’s natural exuberance can quite defy the gravity of the 2013 vintage it seems.
A dozen 2009 Pomerols were shown by the MW Institute last November. I can say hand on heart that the wines were an absolute joy. Many will repay further cellaring but pretty much all of them can be enjoyed already for their youthful vibrancy and lush fruit. Clinet, La Conseillante, L’Eglise Clinet, Gazin and La Fleur-Pétrus have produced tremendous wines here but there’s real excitement too at the ‘lower’ echelons. For me Clos René, La Pointe and Petit-Village have produced fabulous Pomerol while the likes of Beauregard, Nénin and Domaine de Eglise, whilst perhaps not in the same league, have produced wonderfully appealing, positive wines.
In the last five years I can’t remember this appellation disappointing. Pomerol in the right bank is what St Julien is to the left bank. Year in, year out, it is reliable and homogeneous, a barometer for what can be achieved in every vintage. I happen to think that 2012 vintage is better in Pomerol than 2011, though time will only really tell. Clearly 2011 isn’t in the same order as 2009 and 2010, but there is good fruit and density in the best allied to greater freshness and acidity than in these previous vintages. I reckon 2012 has more body, fruit and richness than 2011, but these two vintages will provide a fascinating comparison down the line. Both have the relative advantage of being cheaper, to a degree, than the fashionable years of 2005, 2009 and 2010, so they are worth considering for those who enjoy the freshness and enjoyment of this appellation.
