2020, Château L'Evangile, POMEROL

Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc.

The 2020 L'Évangile, the maiden vintage under the new team, is matured in 60% new oak and 40% mixture of used wood and amphora. It has an expressive, mineral-driven bouquet that open nicely with aeration, light floral touches, incense and potpourri emerging with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, lovely balance and very intense. This is not a powerful Pomerol, not one of huge dimension and muscle, yet there is a multi-layered finish of black fruit that lingers long in the mouth. One for laying down for a decade. Very impressive. 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.

The 2020 L'Évangile is gorgeous. Rich, creamy and expansive in feel, the 2020 is a wine of succulence and textural richness. Black cherry, mocha, espresso, cloves, leather and licorice all meld together. Malolactic fermentation in barrel helps give L'Évangile its sumptuous, creamy personality. The 2020 spent 15 months in barrel, 50% new, with 10% of the wine aged in amphora. The 2020 is a gorgeous wine that is also a wine of transition, as so many things are being looked at with a fresh eye at the estate these days. 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.

The sculpting of L'Evangile that began over the past few vintages continues, and the 2020 is a gorgeous wine. Pristine fruit, silky with a whoosh of menthol. It elevates over the palate, both dense and light, with blueberry and raspberry fruits, and pulses of bitter almond and honeysuckle on the finish that gives focus and spice. Juliette Couderc joined L'Evangile (from DBR Lafite's Long Dai winery) in September 2020 so for the harvest of this wine, working alongside technical director Olivier Tregoat. 50% first wine, with no Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend this year because it was so over-concentrated that it made too much impact. Increased selective harvesting meant going through vineyard plots six times to bring in the grapes as they ripened. A yield of 32hl/ha. In the final year of organic conversion, so this next vintage 2021 will be certified. 98 Jane Anson, Decanter.

Glamour and seduction in spades at L'Evangile giving classic Pomerol typicity with a kick. Floral and expressive on the nose with pink and purple flowers, pink peppercorns, white and dark chocolate, raspberries and black cherries. Gorgeous texture on the palate, rich, deep, potent in the weight and tannic frame - chalky, ripe, mouthfilling, gently chewy giving bounce to the blackcurrant, plum, strawberry and cherry fruit while the minerality and salinity give a cool, fresh undercurrent. Clearly youthful and strict but such long length, really direct and focussed. Sleek yet muscular, everything feels precise and sculpted with a lingering clove and cinnamon edge giving the angles and tension right now. Clean and straight with precision, shape and style, tons of energy and juiciness. A great wine. 98 Georgina Hindle, Decanter.

The 2020 L'Evangile was picked quite early, as the estate's rather young vines were suffering in the dry conditions, and the decision appears to have been judicious, as the wine has turned out very well. Wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, plums, vine smoke and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with velvety tannins and an elegant, harmonious profile that avoids any excess. 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate.

Drinking Window: 2030 - 2055