Ch. L'Evangile
Ch. L'Evangile
Pomerol
2016

The producer

Located in eastern Pomerol on the border with Saint-Emilion (with Cheval Blanc across the divide), and neighbouring La Conseillante, it’s not surprising that this is one of the very finest Pomerols you can find. In 1990, Domaines Baron de Rothschild acquired a majority shareholding, which has meant that the already great estate became even more impressive.

The 14.1 hectares of vineyards are planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc and are situated in one of the warmer spots of the appellation, which means that it ripens early, giving a rich and luxuriantly silky fruit profile that belies its depth and power. This is an outstanding Pomerol that will age for decades.

The wine

Grape material for l’Evangile is sourced from the chateau’s vineyards in eastern Pomerol, and one of the warmest and earliest ripening spots in the appellation. The blend varies with vintage conditions but usually comprises 80 to 90% Merlot complemented with Cabernet Franc. Fermentation takes place, plot by plot, in cement vats and is followed by ageing for 18 months in 70% new French oak barrels. L’Evangile has a rich and luxuriantly silky fruit profile that belies its depth and power. This is an outstanding Pomerol that will age for decades.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.