“Lalande-Pomerol is a jewel of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, a rich and deep wine of great finesse.” – James Suckling, American wine critic.
This is a pure Merlot, from a richly diverse terroir of sandy and gravelly soils. The vineyard is planted mainly with Merlot (80 to 85%), the rest being Cabernet Franc.
Let’s taste it:
A balanced robe, a flamboyant red with lovely chocolatey edges.
A powerful nose, and that complex aroma of damp wood reminds me of long walks out in nature. It quickly comes back to remind you to watch out for those 14.5%.
A discreet length, but one that wakes up and slowly asserts itself after it has passed.
The balanced taste is nonetheless very particular. It may not please everyone, because it’s flat at the start, like a hollow — a dead moment in the script of the aromas — and it struggles to assert its character; then a touch of acidity soon appears.
That sharpness, a little too present at the start to my mind, later leaves a long (very long) and pleasant taste. That’s what I liked about this wine: the length and the persistence of the tannins. My palate is still full of it as I write this article.
This 2020 did suffer from its youth, though, giving off a nose marked by the alcohol that limits its expression. So you’ll have to wait a little longer to enjoy it fully and see Lalande at its best.
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