CHÂTEAU LES CRUZELLES
2017 Lalande de Pomerol
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 40% new oak. A much more obviously open and rich nose than the Chenade. More body and roundness on the palate too. You can really feel the 40% new oak. Tannins give plenty of chew to the fresh, glossy fruit and there's an attractive saline entry. Very good again but more for mid-term drinking when the oak has fully integrated. You will be doing well to find a better Pomerol at this price. Rating: 89 L&S (Apr 2018)
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Super-ripe dark cherry, blackberry, chocolate, spice, new leather and licorice are some of the many notes that run through the 2017 Les Cruzelles. Unctuous and flamboyantly ripe, with tons of intensity, the 2017 is another drop-dead gorgeous beauty in this range from Denis Durantou. Drinking range: 2020 - 2032 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)
The 2017 Les Cruzelles was picked 13 to 22 September for the Merlot and on 22 September for the Cabernet Franc, matured in 70% new oak. It has a more tertiary, earthy bouquet compared to the 2018 with faint touches of brown spice infusing the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, black fruit tinged with liquorice leading to gentle grip on the finish. Excellent, though the 2018 has greater long-term potential. Drinking range: 2020 - 2027 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)
The 2017 Lés Cruzelles comes from clay soils, the Merlot picked from 13 to 22 September, the Cabernet Franc on 22 September, matured in 40% new oak. I found that this has a little more cohesion and focus than the La Chenade at this early stage, blackberry mixed with raspberry and loamy scents, fresh and full of vim. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin. This is very nicely focused with crisp acidity, saline and persistent on the finish. Excellent – this is as good a Lalande de Pomerol as you will find in 2017. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
Blended of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Les Cruzelles opens with crushed blackcurrants and blackberry compote notions with underlying menthol, pencil lead, anise and tobacco notes plus a waft of black pepper. Medium-bodied and quite minerally in the mouth, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with persistent earthy nuances. Rating: 89-91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 40% new oak. Very dark core, almost black. Definite sweetness of oak on the nose but also dark and savoury, lightly charry note. Juicy and very fresh on the palate, more scented on the palate and the tannins more supple than on La Chenade at the moment. Juicy, fresh finish, needs the oak to die back a bit. Drinking range: 2022 - 2027 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)
Gently steeped black currant and blackberry fruit glides through, infused with a mix of tea, savory and incense notes. Reveals a light sanguine echo at the end. Rating: 87-90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)
This shows a pretty center palate of dark fruit and hints of salt. Medium-bodied, firm and silky. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
The grand vin from this property, run by Denis Durantou, is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the former picked from 13th to 22nd September, the latter on 22nd September. The élevage will be in barrel, using 40% new oak. This has sweet black cherry fruit on the nose, with a gravelly and floral freshness that is very easy to admire. A very elegant poise follows on the palate, fresh and pure, with smoked red cherry, gravel, rose petal and redcurrant fruits. It feels fresh, pure, bright and poised. A lovely elegance here, a wine of fine tannins, and pretty potential. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
Château les Cruzelles
Among the brightest stars of the exalted Pomerol appellation is Denis Durantou at Château l’Eglise-Clinet. Little more than a kilometre to the north, near enough to see one from t’other, across the Barbanne stream in Lalande-de-Pomerol is Château les Cruzelles, also owned by Denis. The 10ha of vines boast the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc in the area – 40% - with the rest being the more usual Merlot. Aside from Château les Cruzelles proper Denis also produces here La Chenade, a Lalande-de-Pomerol cuvee he made with Cruzelles’ grapes even before he bought the estate in 2000. Denis also owns a small vineyard of 35 year old Merlot vines at Saint Etienne de Lisse at the eastern end of St Emilion that goes under the name of Saintayme. And, a little further south-east, across the boundary in the Côtes de Castillon is Château Montlandrie that Denis bought in 2009. Much renovation has taken place at the 12ha vineyard that includes, almost uniquely for the Right Bank, new plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon that now make up 15% of the vineyard alongside the usual 65% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.