CHÂTEAU LA VIOLETTE

The 2016 La Violette was one of the turn-ups for the books at this tasting, for what I have previously found to be an excellent Pomerol is evolving into a showstopper. It has a brilliant bouquet with incredibly well-defined red fruit laced with cedar and truffle, utterly graceful and the oak beautifully integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, finely tuned acidity and gentle grip toward the long, tender finish. Pure class and nobility. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 98 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)

This tiny production cuvée comes the team at La Gay. The 2016 Château La Violette is all Merlot raised in new oak. It’s more reserved and elegant compared to the sexier 2015 and has medium to full-bodied notes of blackberries, violets, smoked earth, and incense. Seamless, nicely concentrated, with good acidity and fine tannins, give bottles 4-5 years in the cellar and it should keep for two decades. As with the Le Gay in 2016, this cuvée leans heavily toward the fresher, more elegant end of the spectrum at the expense of opulence. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful wine. Drinking range: 2023 - 2043 Rating: 94+ Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 La Violette is pure Merlot picked from 4 to 7 October at just 29 hectoliters per hectare, de-stemmed by hand and matured in 100% new oak. It has a lower alcohol level than Le Gay at 13.5%, because the terroir is cooler. The bouquet is very opulent and showy, plush red cherries intermingling with crème de cassis and blueberry jam, missing the delineation of some of its peers. This is strange because with that lower alcohol level, I was expecting something more terroir-driven. The palate is full-bodied, although certainly not as glossy or as flamboyant as older vintages of La Violette. It is well balanced, overtly modern in style and very polished as always. However, it is missing that complexity and engaging personality that other Pomerols possess on the finish. I probably have a preference for the 2015 La Violette, even though this is a very attractive, if slightly predictable wine. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)