- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
JD
97
Jeb Dunnuck
Rating (95 - 97)+ Described as a new age for l’Evangile by the estate, their 2020 Château L'Evangile showed beautifully, with the pure, elegant yet still ripe, beautifully concentrated style of the estate these days. Rocking levels of crème de cassis, black cherries, blueberries, graphite, and violets all emerge from the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a terrific sense of purity, present, ripe yet firm tannins, and a great finish. It's a promising, elegant yet at the same time powerful 2020 that's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 20-25 years or more. The blend is 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, all raised in 60% new French oak. Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck, Issue date: May 2021. Drinking window: Unavailable.
RP
98
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Rating (96 - 98)+ Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 L'Evangile rolls effortlessly out of the glass with notions of mulberries, black raspberries and stewed red and black plums, plus suggestions of Indian spices, dusty soil and violets with a touch of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate possesses compelling freshness and a fine-grained texture to support the muscular black and red fruits, finishing long and earthy. This 2020 blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc has an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.8. Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Issue date: May 2021. Drinking window: 2026 -2050.
V
97
Vinous
Rating (95 - 97) The 2020 L'Evagile is fabulous. Aromatic, deep and fleshy, with magnificent purity of fruit, L'Evagile dazzles right out of the gate. Bright Franc aromatics add striking lift as well as vibrancy that carries through to the long, delineated finish. There is an energy to the 2020 that is palpable. Harvest for the Merlot began on September 3, ahead of a heat wave that was forecast, and wrapped up on the 14th for the Merlot and the 21st for the Franc. That approach worked so well here. In the past, L'Evangile and Lafite-Rothschild were very different stylistically, but that seems to be changing now that Saskia de Rothschild is spending a great deal of her time in Pomerol with the new winemaking team. The estate, certified biodynamic as of 2021, has been pursuing a more refined approach for a few years, but 2020 is the first recent vintage where the personality of the year seems to have aligned especially well with the current thinking here. The 2020 L'Evangile is easily the most Lafite-like L'Evangile I have ever tasted. Don't miss it! Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni, Issue date: May 2021. Drinking window: 2030 - 2050.
2020 Chateau L'Evangile, Pomerol, France
Castle The Gospel
POMEROL
The wines of Château L'Evangile are described in an old edition of the "Great wines of Bordeaux" as "full, elegant wines, endowed with an incomparable bouquet and finesse"...
ASSOCIATED GRAPE VARIETIES IN WINE:
80 to 90% Merlot, 10 to 20% Cabernet Franc
DURATION OF AGING IN OAK BARRELS:
18 months including 70% new barrels
AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
2,000 to 3,000 cases
TASTING TIPS
Decanting: 2 hours or more Serving
temperature: 16-18°C